


More Than Survive

by Winder



Series: Survive [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: But He Gets Better, College AU, Everyone's kinda gay, F/F, F/M, Human Squips, M/M, NOT an abusive relationship, Squip Jake, Squip Rich, Squips kinda an asshole, Trying to be normal and failing completely, boyf riends being bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-14 23:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 159,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13018464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winder/pseuds/Winder
Summary: Jeremy was ready for his second year of college, he was ready for his normal, day to day life and for hanging out with his friends. What he wasn't ready for was a guy named Will to drag him into a world that he didn't even know existed, a world he wasn't even sure he was going to be able to make it out of. Jeremy/Squip





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own anything to do with 'BMC' books, paly, or musical.

Note: This story is mostly based off of the musical version of the characters.

Pairings: Jeremy/Squip, Michael/Rich, and Christine/Jake. More side pairings may be added.

Summary: Jeremy was ready for his second year of college, he was ready for his normal, day to day life and for hanging out with his friends. What he wasn't ready for was a guy named Will to drag him into a world that he didn't even know existed, a world he wasn't even sure he was going to be able to make it out of. Jeremy/Squip

Warning: Occasional mentions of graphic violence (Not between Jeremy/Squip). Not an abusive Squip/Jeremy story. Takes place in college so I guess underage drinking if you live in America. Squips a bit of an asshole but he mellows out eventually. Slowburnish.

More Than Survive

Chapter 1

Jeremy let out a loud groan, flopping over face first into his bed and wishing he could just stay there for the rest of his life.

He hated the first day back to school. It was always the longest, most boring day of the year. And so stressful. There were so many stupid icebreaker games so that he could 'learn more' about his fellow classmates who he was sure he was only going to talk to once this year that just about sent him into an anxiety attack ever five minutes, if that, and then there were the same speeches that every, single, teach, gave. The ones to go over the term and what they would be learning, and just why they had to pay three hundred bucks on a stupid book they were only going to go through once.

God, he really hated those.

"Jeremy?"

"I'm dead, go away." He mumbled, not bothering to lift his head from his pillow as he spoke, unable to even lift his arms to pull the blankets over his own body and curl up in a nice cocoon of warmth.

Michael simply snickered at him, inviting himself into his room and swaggering up to his bed.

"Well that's too bad. I really need someone to help me beat the next level on Zombie Prom Knight: Long Live the Queen."

Turing his head just enough to glare at his best friend Jeremy gave out a loud huff as he slowly pushed himself up.

Michael knew there was no way that he could say no to that. Damn him.

"Alright, fine."

His less than enthusiastic attitude did nothing to dim the others, his bright eyes lighting up behind his thick rimmed glasses while he threw an arm around the thinner male's shoulders.

"Great! Let's go kick some zombie ass!"

"Mich! Language!" Christine called out as they stepped out of Jeremy's room and straight into the living room/kitchen.

"Sorry Chrisy!" Michael said to her, watching as she smiled at the two of them from over her text book at their tiny table.

"It's fine, just remember our rules."

Michael groaned as Jeremy laughed, supporting his friend's weight when he went limp in his hold.

"Ugh, I hate dish duty."

"Well, on the bright side you could always lie and say that you just felt bad for Rich, decided to take his punishment for him." The taller of the two suggested, dumping his friend on to the single loveseat they'd managed to cram into their small apartment.

Flopping down next to him, both of them being all but squashed together, he didn't miss the look that came across Michael's face or the small snicker that floated up behind them from Christine.

"That's a great idea." He said, his eyes glazing over while Jeremy dropped the controller into his friend's hands. "He would totally love me for that."

"I'm pretty sure that he already does, but getting more brownie points couldn't hurt." Christine said, Jeremy casting a look over his shoulder to smile at her.

"I think he gets his fill of sweets with Michael."

Michael let out a scandalized squeak, his two best friends chuckling at his embarrassment as he elbowed the lanky male harmlessly in the ribs.

"Ow! Dude!"

"You're just jealous." Michael smirked, the blush over his face the only indication that he'd been embarrassed just two seconds ago and wasn't feeling nearly as cocky as he was letting on.

"Of what?" Jeremy questioned, a smile over his face as they got the game started and went through the main menu.

"Not having your own super adorable, little boyfriend to cuddle up with." Michael said, nodding his head at his own words.

"Sorry, but Rich is the last person I would describe as cute." Jeremy mumbled, his eyes narrowing at the game while Michael jerked to the side, his character seeming to follow his movements as they jumped out of the way of one of the undead.

For a long while no one said anything. Christine reading ahead in her books, and Michael and Jeremy focused on trying not to be killed by a group of tuxedo wearing zombies. The longer that they continued however the more vocal the two boys became, shouting out tips and hints to one another as they tried to stay alive the harder the game got.

"Look to your right!"

"I got 'em! Oh! Watch out for the cheerleader!"

"Pick up the axe! The axe! What the hell is the punch bowl going to do for you!?"

"Agh!"

"No!"

Jeremy let out a long sigh, sitting back against the couch as he gave himself some time to rest. Many people might not have thought that gaming was good exercise, but from how tense he was the whole time, every muscle straining as he worked hard to keep his character from getting chomped up, he would almost beg to differ.

"Man, we're never gonna get passed this level, are we?"

"Well, we got passed that one level that we struggled with for a whole year once. I'm sure that it will just take us some time." Michael grinned, holding up his controller as he nudged his friend with his elbow. "Ready to go again?"

"Sure thing. But this time I think we should try to draw them all to the corner of the gym and then maneuver around them."

"That'll get us eaten for sure." Michael pointed out while Jeremy gave a quick shake of his head.

"Not if we're quick! Let's just add some points to our characters speed. We can take them from our defense."

"Seems like a bad idea but it's worth a shot."

Diving back into their game neither of them noticed the door to their place opening. They couldn't even hear Christine greeting the others over the sounds of their own shouts, their fingers mashing hard on the buttons as they zoned in on the game before them.

"Ugh? This game again?"

Michael yelped when Rich dropped into his lap, nearly knocking the controller out of his hand and successfully getting him killed in the game. Jeremy shot a quick glare out of the corner of his eye at the new arrival, knowing that there was no way of him to survive the rest of the level on his own. Sinking back in his seat he dropped the controller on his lap, watching with a scowl as his character was grabbed and eaten, the bloody words 'Game Over' appearing not even seconds later.

"Rich! You got us killed." Michael whined, pouting at his boyfriend as Rich snatched the drawstrings of his hoodie and pulled him in close.

"Aw, don't worry babe, I'll make it up to you."

Jeremy gave a hard roll of his eyes when the two kissed, knowing that there was no way they were going to be able to continue playing now. Not with Rich distracting Michael.

When he got up from his seat, neither of the two seemed to notice, and he turned his attention to the less pda couple.

"How'd swim practice go?"

Jake broke away from the quiet conversation that he was having with Christine, giving Jeremy a polite smile as he brushed his still damp bangs away from his face.

"Pretty good. We didn't do much really, but there was a new guy there. He invited me and Rich to his party and said that we could bring a few friends if we wanted. Do you want to go?"

Oh yay, more awkward social interactions with people he didn't know. Sounded like a blast.

Really Jeremy didn't have much against parties, they were actually pretty fun when he went with his friends, no one ever left anyone behind, and it was nice to just relax and let go every once and awhile, but tonight he just wasn't feeling it.

Jake seemed to understand his conclusion before he even said anything, Christine jumping in to say something before either of them could speak.

"You don't have to stay the whole night if you don't want to Jer." She said, her smile soft as she stared up at him with bright brown eyes. "Just come for an hour tops, then you can still leave if you'd like, I'll even walk you home if you have too much to drink."

Jeremy gave a small scoff, pulling out a chair and taking a seat before them. "I'm not that much of a lightweight."

"I hate to be that guy," Jake put in, the smirk over his face saying otherwise, "but who was it who broke out into 'I wanna dance with somebody' after two beers?"

A dark flush worked over Jeremy's cheeks as he scowled at the two snickering traders in front of him.

"Not fair." He grumbled.

"Well if Jeremy's not gonna go I'm not gonna go either. Gotta keep my bro company." Michael said, his voice drawing all of their attention to the couch.

Michael's head was hanging off the back, looking at them all upside down with a goofy grin on his face. From his angle he couldn't see the livid glare coming from his own boyfriend that bore into Jeremy's skull.

"You better come tallass." Rich growled, crossing his arms over his chest as his gaze narrowed sharply at the other. "I really want to go to this thing, and I'm not going if Mich isn't."

Oh shit. Being stuck alone in the house with just Michael and Rich was never a good combination. Rich did not like sharing, at all, and if he thought that Jeremy was stealing any of Michael's attention from him he was going to have to sleep with one eye open.

Bring both hands up in surrender Jeremy gave a sharp nod of his head. "Alright, I'll go."

Rich and Michael both smiled, turning back to each other happily now that the whole group was going to be going.

"Rich, Dish duty." Christine snickered, earning a whine from the boy as Michael spoke up.

"I'll do it for you tonight Richy, don't even worry."

"Aw, my hero." Rich cooed, a giant smirk over his face as he nipped at the others nose while Jeremy rolled his eyes once more and turned back to the others.

"So what time is it at?" He asked, Jake throwing his arm gently around Christine's shoulders before he spoke.

"It starts at ten, byob though so we should head out soon to pick up some drinks and what not."

"Sounds good to me."

"Make sure you just get juice for the lightweight." Rich sneered from over his shoulder. "Don't want him to make a fool of himself again. Oh, I guess he already kinda does that without the help of alcohol doesn't h-ow!"

"Be nice." Michael warned, his voice stern as Jeremy tried to hide his smile at the guy's whine.

"But..."

"No buts." Michael growled, always willing to jump to his best friends defense, even if it was against his own boyfriend. "Be nice to Jerbear or I'm not going and me and Jeremy will just play video games all night and you can sulk in our room."

Willing a chance to look over his shoulder Jeremy had to hold back a laugh at the look on the others face.

Rich looked absolutely mortified.

"Okay fine." He muttered, not seeming at all happy with the situation as he dropped his head on Michael's shoulder. "I'll be nice."

"Aw, thanks Rich."

Admittedly, even if Rich was a pain in the ass for him a lot of the time, he couldn't imagine anyone else making his best friend this happy.

Michael gave him a thumbs up from his spot, his other arm wrapping around his boyfriend and holding him close.

"I'm going to go and pick up some of the drinks now." Christine chirped, placing her book down and hopping up while Jake sat back to allow her more space to move. "Anyone want to come with me?"

He'd been tired earlier but he was wide awake now, he might as well do something other than just hangout and give Rich new ideas on just how he could make his life hell.

"Sure, I'll come along."

"Me too." Jake said, getting up and pushing in his own chair as he slid in beside his girlfriend. "They've got these new drinks that I want to try and I have no idea what the name is but I'll recognize them when I see them."

"Great! Let's go!"

Always the one to lead, Christine reached out for her boyfriend's hand and pulled him along gently, Jeremy following behind them at a respectable distance.

"We'll be back in a bit guys!"

"Take all the time you need." Rich grinned back, Jeremy moving just a little bit quicker to get out at the words he was reading between the lines.

Christine, blissfully unaware about what he was talking about simply waved to them, Jake sent a smirk over his shoulder and tossed out a good word of advice,

"Make sure you use protection!"

Jeremy quickly closed the door with a bright blush over his cheeks as he trailed behind the two, praying to whoever might have been listening that they wouldn't do it on the couch.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jeremy was already kind of regretting this.

Sipping idly on the cup in his hands he eyed the crowd of youths before him from his spot up against the wall, the smallest of smiles pulling at his lips as he caught sight of his friends dancing, laughing, and generally having a good time. Really there was nothing stopping him from doing the same thing, but he just wasn't in the mood to party and he was kind of regretting saying that he'd come. But he supposed if he hadn't than Michael wouldn't have gone either and his friend loved to attend parties with the others, it wouldn't have been fair to make him stay back just for him.

His eyes slipped over to the kitty shaped clock on the wall, his gaze following the tail for a moment in a trace like state before they snapped up to the time.

If he wanted to reach his one hour max that Christine had given him than all he had to do was stay here for about ten more minutes. He hadn't been drinking much at all and this house was only a few blocks away from their college. No one would have to walk back home with him because he'd been making sure not to drink enough to make them worry over it. Besides, he was sure that they were all pretty much plastered at this point anyways and he'd end up having to watch them if they walked back.

"Hey tallass!"

His gaze snapped over to the short male making his way through the crowd, his cheeks highlighted a light shade of red and a giant goofy grin over his face.

No doubt Rich hadn't had that much to drink to get like this. Jake might have made fun of Jeremy for being a lightweight, but neither Rich nor Jake ever really drank much either and always seemed to be the most easily tipsy ones of the bunch.

He could still recall a time back in high school when they all been at a party together and Rich and Jake had just apparently lost it, twitching in strange ways and speaking Japanese to one another before passing out on the couch. Everyone thought they had died when their skin started turning a light shade of blue but after calling 911 the paramedics said they had been fine and than the whole party had been shut down.

Thankful Rich didn't seem that far gone yet, strolling up to Jeremy and humming slightly to himself while his head bobbed to the music.

Jeremy didn't bother saying anything, he just took another small sip of his drink and waited to hear just what it was that Rich wanted to say. The only time Rich didn't seem to think that Jeremy was some sort of threat to his relationship with Michael was when he was drinking, and admittedly hearing the things he would rant on about was always somewhat amusing. At least it would kill another... seven minutes.

"Aw, you look so lonely over here all by your lonesome." Rich cooed, his arm coming up to sling around Jeremy's shoulders.

With how much shorter he was it made to angle awkward, and Jeremy found himself crouching a little in order to make himself more comfortable.

Hm, maybe tonight wasn't going to be a rant, maybe it was just cuddly Rich coming out to play.

"I know you're a really awkward dancer and stuff because of all of your long ass limbs...man just look at these things, like snowman arms."

Jeremy quickly placed his drink down to keep himself from spilling it on either of them as Rich lifted up his other arm over his head, inspecting it like it was some type of special power up in MarioCart.

"If you went to dance you could spin around and take people out like a tornado." The short male snickered, twirling around a few times before stumbling to a stop, a bright smile over his face as he laughed.

Suddenly he went quiet, his face becoming so serious and still that it was almost unnerving. Still not saying anything just in case it would be the wrong thing, Jeremy gently tried to pull his hand back to his side. The action only made Rich tighten his own grip and the taller male couldn't help but wince. Small Rich might have been, but he was a tough little fucker and had the strength to stand behind him.

"Do you love Michael?"

It wasn't the first time that he'd ever asked that question. Nearly every time they all went out drinking together Rich would find him alone at some point in order to demand if Jeremy was in love with his best friend. Honestly Jeremy always thought it was a little cute. For someone who appeared to be a self assured jack ass most of the time when his guard was down and his really personality wasn't hidden, he was such an insecure, frightened cinnamon bun.

With a smile on his face Jeremy reached out his other hand to pat at the soft brown hair.

"I promise that Michael is just my player two." He assured, biting back on the chuckle that wanted to escape passed his lips at the long sigh that the other let out.

"Oh thank god. I can't lose him Jeremy." Rich mumbled, his head dropping to rest against Jeremy's chest as he spoke. "I would die if he ever left me."

Okay...this was a little weird. As much as he was use to Rich questioning him about his relationship with Michael, normally after he got his answer he would just boast that Michael would never like Jeremy anyways and than would saunter off. This was a little more... honest, more raw than what he was use to, and Jeremy really wasn't to sure just what he was supposed to do in this situation.

"Aw, you two are bonding."

Snapping his gaze over to the side Jeremy felt a wave of relief wash over him as his best friend walked up to them. His attention was only drawn to Rich for a moment, something tugging at his heart at the way that he discreetly tried to wipe at his eyes.

"Bonding with this beanpole? Ya right." Rich scoffed, his smirk back in place as he turned around to face Michael. "Dance with me!"

This time Jeremy did laugh, Michael joining him as Rich all but lunched himself at him, his arms wrapped so tightly around Michael's waist that he would have given any octopus a run for its money.

"Sure thing small-and-mighty, but I need to talk to Jeremy for a second."

And from the glare that he received in turn for those words Jeremy knew that he was back to square one all over again. Deciding to ignore it for now he turned back to his friend and smile up at him.

"What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you're going to be staying. I can walk you home if you want." Michael said, subconsciously rocking Rich back and forth, unknowingly settling the boy in his arms.

"Nah, it's okay man, I don't want to trouble you. I'll be fine on my own. Besides, I wouldn't want to take you away from the party."

"It's no trouble at all," Michael grinned, resting his head on top of Rich's as he spoke. "And trust me the parties not going anywhere. It'll take half an hour tops to get you there and back and by the time I get back here this place will be wild."

"No it's..."

"Jeremy please." The sudden seriousness in Michael's voice halted him in any other protests, his mouth snapping shut at the look over his friend's face. "Let me walk you home."

Okay, so, this was weird.

Maybe there was something that Michael wanted to ask him alone, and god only knows how hard it was to get any alone time when the rest of the group was always around.

Nodding his head in forced agreement watched as a smile bloomed over Micheal's face while he gently peeled away from Rich. A small whine slipped passed the others lips as he tried to cling harder to the boy, burning his face against the soft material of Michael's hoodie and earning a chuckle from his boyfriend.

"I'll be right back babe." Michael assured him softly, running his fingers through his hair before he carefully grabbed at Rich's hands and removed them from his person. "There was something that Jake wanted to talk to you about, why don't you go find him?"

"Fineeee..." Rich let out a long sigh, tossing a glare over his shoulder at Jeremy before he slipped into the crowd and disappeared from sight.

"You know he's going to kill me for that later right?" Jeremy asked, unable to help the small wavering in his voice as Michael threw an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't worry about Rich, I'll deal with him okay?" Michael chuckled, always finding the little tiff between the two to be amusing.

Shooting his friend a crooked grin they headed outside into the nippy air. Jeremy was glad for his sweater, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked further down the street and away from the house spilling obnoxiously loud pop music. He waited until they were a fair distant away, at least a block or more, before he tossed a look over at the one fidgeting next to his side.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Michael scoffed, the sound to high pitched to be played off as easily as he was hoping while his hands grabbed a hold of his headphones, a nervous habit he'd never truly been able to kick since he'd been in high school.

"What makes you think tha...?"

"Michael."

The boy's mouth snapped shut, his eyes darting over to Jeremy as if he was a kid caught with his backpack full of stolen video games.

"Spit it out."

"Agh! Okay fineee!" Michael groaned as he dropped his head back, Jeremy finding it very tempting to point out that he sounded just like Rich. "Here."

Jeremy fumbled at the sudden hand that shot out and almost smacked him to hard in the chest. Awkwardly he pulled his hands out of his pockets, the action clumsier than usual as he waited for whatever it was that Michael wanted to show him to be dropped in his palms. He blinked down at the tiny object, taking a moment to absorb just what it was before he came to a sudden stop.

"Is this...?"

"It's not for you!" Michael exclaimed, his hand coming up to run through his hair, his eyes darting off to the side. "I...It's for Rich."

Glancing down at the object in his hands again Jeremy could feel a giant smile pulling at his lips, his head snapping back up to look at the bright flush over his friend's face.

"Dude."

That seemed to be all the prompting Michael needed as he quickly snatched it back, playing with the small band in his hands carefully, his eyes still unable to look up and face his best friend.

"What? We've been dating for four years and I just thought, 'well, why not?' you know? Besides I can't imagine spending my life with anyone other than Rich and it's not like we're gonna get married right away. I mean it's not an engagement ring or anything but I figured that a promise ring was a good start. Well, honestly I thought about buying him an engagement ring but I don't want him stressing out over wedding plans or anything while he's also trying to study for his exams and you know how anxious he gets over certain things and the last thing that I want to do it put him in that kind of position so the lady at the store told me that this would work just as well and I think he'll really like it. I mean I hope he will, I even got a silver one since he hates gold and it's nice and simple just like he likes but do you think maybe I should have gotten him something with a little more...I don't know flare? I mean what if he..."

"Mich." Jeremy quickly placed his hands over Michael's own, stopping his twitching and his rambling all at once as he smile softly at him. "Rich is gonna love, because it came from you."

Finally Michael looked up at him, taking in a deep breath as his shoulders hunched up to his ears before they dropped, finally relaxing.

"You really think so?"

Giving a small nod of his head Jeremy patted his shoulder. "I know so. He's gonna freak out when you give it to him. Expect tears."

A blindingly bright smile broke through the darkness, lighting up the area they stood in as Michael once again threw his arm around his friends shoulders.

"Thanks bro, I really needed to hear that."

"No problem." Jeremy grinned, continuing on their way back to their home as they walked side by side.

"There are just two more things I wanted to ask you though."

"Shoot." Jeremy said, his smile tugging at the corner of his lips while he watched his friend from the corner of his eye.

"Well, Rich has got a habit of obsessively cleaning everything in our room when he gets bored, and I don't want him finding the ring just yet so I was wondering if you would mind keeping it in your room?"

"Of course man."

"Great! Uh and also, I was wondering if you would do me the honour of being my best man at the wedding?"

His chest exploded with warmth, a jittery sort of joy fluttering up in his stomach as a face splitting smile pulled at Jeremy's lips. He came to a stop once more, turning to face his best friend in the whole world as he placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it another tight squeeze in reassurance.

"Of course. You're my player two man, and words couldn't even being to describe just how honoured I would be to be your best man."

He let out a shocked 'oomfh!' when Michael suddenly hugged him, his arms wrapping tightly around his waist as he lifted Jeremy off his feet with ease, spinning him around a few times before dropping him back on his feet.

"You're the best bromigo!" Michael laughed, the sound so overjoyed that Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle along with him. "I'll get you home and than we can chose a hiding place for this little thing and than I'll head back to hangout with my future fiancee." He sing sang, pocketing the ring most likely so he wouldn't lose it or accidentally drop it. "This is going to be so exciting! I been trying to think of the perfect way to go about it too but I've just got so many ideas and I'm not sure which one would be best so I was thinking..."

Jeremy just nodded his head along with everything that Michael was saying. He knew that his friend wasn't talking to him so much anymore as he was talking to himself and trying to sort through all of his ideas. Even though he wasn't the one proposing or anything like that he couldn't help but be really excited for his friend, and he seemed so happy too.

Putting in a word here or there about this and that, they both took a turn, deciding that it would be faster for them to just cut across the school grounds rather than continue with the residential area. As they were crossing to the other side of the football field, a shadowy figure of someone caught Jeremy's eyes, leading him to gently nudge his friend to catch his attention.

Michael came to a stop in his ranting for a moment, squinting into the darkness as the tall figure continued on its way towards them.

"Do you recognize them?" Jeremy asked, his brows pulling together as Michael gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Dude, I can't even see who they are."

It was only when they drew a little bit closer that Jeremy could truly see them, or really her. She was a tall woman, appearing to be in her late forties or early fifty. Her dark hair was pulled back into what might have been a tight bun at one point but was slightly askew now with some slivering strands of hair shaken loose. There was a dark bruise on her left cheek, and some blood was dripping from both her nose and her mouth, her form fitting clothes appearing to be slightly ripped and...burnt?

"Uh, are you okay?"

Jeremy found the words spilling from his mouth as his eyes darted around to see if there was anyone lurking around or following after her. She didn't appear to be afraid, which he thought was strange given her state, her expression oddly stone faced, but he found himself being slightly more freaked out when she came to an abrupt stop right in front of them. He'd thought that she'd been tall from a distance, but it was nothing compared to her being up close. They were both quiet tall themselves, normally having no problem seeing over their fellow peers, but she towered over them by at least a foot, making her glare only that much more intimidating.

"Have you seen a child?" She asked, her hand coming up to her side, just an inch or two under Jeremy's height as her gaze snapped back and forth between the two boys like a hawk waiting to swoop down and kill at the first sign of weakness. "He's about this tall, around your age, black hair, blue eyes. Seen him?"

Her words were curt, giving no more than needed and soundly slightly, offish. He couldn't place his finger on just what it was but there was something about the way that she spoke that wasn't just unsettling, but straight up inhuman.

"Um, no." Michael muttered, apparently the only one who was able to force words out while Jeremy just stood there. "Should we like, phone the police or something? I mean is this kid attacking you? Or...?"

"No police." She snapped, interrupting Michael before he could finish. "If you have no useful information I will move on. Have a nice night."

Without another word she continued on her way, brushing passed the boys and starting right back up in her speed walk as if she had never stopped. For a long moment neither of them said anything, they just watched her back as she grew further and further away, her head turning this way and that as she continued her search for whoever it was she was looking for. Jeremy eventually turned to look over at his friend, seeing that Michael was giving him much the same look as his brows pulled together before his eyes dart back over to the strange woman.

"Well that was..."

"Weird, right?" Michael finished, turning his back on the woman to continue his way back towards home. "I don't know who I should feel more concerned over, her, or that guy that she's trying to find."

"Ya," Jeremy mumbled, walking along with his friend as he continued to stare at her over his shoulder, "do you think maybe we should call the police?"

What if she was a murderer or something? Or what if it was some type of child abuse? Shouldn't they have tried to get help? Wouldn't it be irresponsible for them not to say anything? To not do anything?

Michael bit down on his bottom lip, copying Jeremy as he tossed a look over his shoulder, both of them quickly snapping their heads back when they noticed that she was facing them.

"Shit, do you think that she heard us?" He whispered, picking up his pace as they moved passed the bleachers.

"Not unless she has super human hearing or somet..." Jeremy's words died in his throat, his eyes moving from his friend to what was moving on his other side.

Stupidly, the first thing his brain screamed out at him when it made out the shambling form of darkness was 'ZOMBIE!' but he quickly shook away the stupid notion as he hit his friend in the shoulder.

"Michael!" He was hissing too, hoping to keep his voice low as they both turned their attention to the figure limping under the bleachers.

They shared a look with on another, neither of them having to say a word before they took off straight for what they assumed was the kid that the creepy lady had been looking for.

As they got closer Jeremy was horrified as the dim outdoor lights around the school sickeningly lit up the strangers appearance. If he'd thought that the woman looked bad, it had nothing to do with the state that this kid was in.

He was holding his arm across his stomach, blood oozing out passed his fingertips and soaking into the dark, ratty hood that he was wearing. His face was so bruised up that there were barely any places where the peachy coloured skin could poke through, and a mix of burns and cuts that were splattered over his face, forcing him to keep one of his eyes shut to keep the blood from getting into it. His free hand was pressed firmly against the underside of the bleacher, being the only thing to help him stay standing as he swayed with each limping step he took. When he coughed, the action sounded wet and rough, a thick slather of blood coming up with it seconds before he stumbled.

Michael reacted first, lunging out to catch the stranger before he could meet with the ground.

"Oh shit!"

Jeremy wordlessly agreed with his friend's statement, glancing back to see the woman was speed walking towards them, something oddly blue sparking around her fingers.

Did she have a fucking taser!?

"Shit! Dude we have to call for help!"

"There's no one here to call too!" Jeremy's voice was oddly pitched in his panic, his eyes darting back over to the other side and nearly screaming when he saw her sprinting towards them. "Of fuck! We have to go!"

"Access denied, host inaccessible."

The words sounded slightly slurred, his voice deeper than Jeremy would have thought as more blood dripped passed his lips as he swayed forward some before Michael tightened his hold.

"What?"

Jeremy would have been right there with his friend's confusion, but what looked like the female equivalent of the terminator was getting closer and his mind couldn't focus on anything other than, 'We have to get the fuck out of here, Right, NOW!'

In a few short steps he was next to the stranger's side, helping his friend place an arm around each of their necks as he tightened his hold on the guy's wrist. His eyes were blown wide, his mind running through every idea that he could think of in such rapid succession that he was having a hard time trying to figure out what to do or which one to pick.

"We have to get out of here." Well, that was a 'no shit' thing to say. But he couldn't think of anything else so he only nodded his head in agreement. "We won't be able to out run her, we've got to hide." Michael said, his eyes darting all around the dark school for anywhere that they could go.

"There!"

Now that he was thinking of it, yelling out and pointing in the direction that they were going to go probably wasn't the smartest choice,, but neither of them cared much as they started as fast as they could towards the small alley between the main building and the gym that he had pointed to. If they could just get through there, they'd be able to make their way into the garden section. That place was confusing enough for people who had been going to the school for years, they could just hide out there until morning, or at least until they could call and get some help. This guy looked like he was about to bleed out soon.

Dragging the body between them slowed them down immensely, but eventually Jeremy could feel it getting easier and easier, and when he tossed a look to his side he could see that the guy was actually limping along with them, his eyes more focused than they had been in the last few minutes and...wait, were they glowing!?

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind he gritted his teeth when he felt a sudden shock travel though his veins.

"Calibration in process."

The pain almost made his whole body lock up, but he managed to pushed passed it, nearly stumbling himself as another, stronger current flowed through him once more. They were almost there though, he couldn't give up now. Fighting through the pain that now seemed to be attacking his very core, they reached the alley, slipping in as a strange roar echoed behind them, part of the wall tumbling away and adding fuel to their steps.

Michael pushed them all off the main path, the three of them falling into the thick bushes before they scrambled deeper into the dense brush. As the footsteps neared they all stopped breathing, fearing their heartbeats were to loud as they clamped their hands over their mouths.

"William."

The ice in those words sent a chill straight down Jeremy's spine, and a sudden explosion of pain along his whole body made his bark out in agony.

Michael's head snapped towards him, his eyes wide in horror, before they all snapped their attention towards the space where the woman seemed to suddenly appear.

She didn't say anything, ignoring the two boys as she went straight for her target.

"Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated."

Her eyes were blown wide at 'Will's' sudden utterance, but before she could take another step, Michael tackled her to the ground.

Jeremy screamed, feeling as if something was being pulled out of him, feeling his energy draining from him while shocks of lightning spread all the way from his feet to the top of his skull.

"Accessing memory. Accessing cerebrum. Accessing core energy. Activating regeneration. Activating super charge. Initiate Squip overriding program. Up, up, down, down, left, right, A."

The only thing that Jeremy could hear before he completely blacked out was the sound of the woman's agonized scream, and he couldn't help but hope that Michael was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously love clingy Rich! I find him so cute! XD Hope that everyone enjoys this chapter! :D Thanks for reading! :D


	3. Chapter 3

More Than Survive

More Than Survive

The moment Jeremy woke up, he just wanted to head back to sleep. His whole body felt exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in the passed two weeks. He could barely summon up enough strength to open his eyes, let alone move himself in anyway.

A weak groan slipped passed his lips, the soft noise causing his throat to burn, scratchy and dry as if he hadn't drank any water within the last few days or so.

God. Just what had happened?

"Jeremy!"

The voice made his head spin, screwing his eyes shut as if that would help block it out and ease the oncoming migraine. He hissed when someone, no doubt Michael, grabbed at his shoulders and hoisted him up a little bit.

"You're awake!

"Ya, ya, I'm awake."

The words killed to push out, a dry cough forcing it's way out and making his eyes tear up in pain. It was a struggle but he finally managed to pry his eyes open, the blinding light making him want to seal them shut forever before he zeroed in on Michael's face.

Suddenly, everything that had happened before the darkness had come to claim him hit him full force, every memory coming back with crystal clear clarity as he snapped up, ignoring his bodies strong protest and wrapping his arms around his friend.

"Michael!" Pulling back he placed his hands on his friends face, looking him over for any cuts of bruises, checking him out the rest of the way to see if there were any burns or broken bones.

Michael had jumped at that crazy lady. He'd tackled her to the ground and Jeremy had done nothing to help. If the boy was hurt in any way shape or form he'd never be able to forgive himself.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled, not able to see anything on the surface and turning his attention back to his friend's face. "What happened? We're you okay? Did the police get that lady or...?"

"Uh, about that," Michael said, his brows drawing together as he grabbed a hold of Jeremy's hands and removed them from his person. "I...it's been...well you've been unconscious for almost twenty four hours and I still don't really have any idea what happened."

"What?" Jeremy was confused. There were so many things off with that sentence. First off, had he said twenty four hours!? What the hell! Oh shit! What about all of his classes? But also, "I don't understand." And he honestly didn't. How could Michael not know what happened if he was the one who had stayed conscious through the whole thing? Had he not seen what when on?

"Dude I can't even..." Michael sat back on the bed, his back facing his player one as he ran his hands down his face. "I just...nothing from that night makes any sense to me. It doesn't even feel real."

-Jeremy.-

Jeremy jumped at the sudden call of his name. Snapping his head around like a mad man lead his reaction to cause Michael to start, staring up at him strangely as he arched a single brow.

"You okay?"

Focusing back in on his friend Jeremy's eyes squinted, wondering if maybe he had just been hearing things. Other than Michael there was no one else in the room, and well, Michael's voice and the one in his head were completely different.

"Ya I..." giving a shake of his head Jeremy bit down on his bottom lip, "I'm, fine."

"Okay?" Michael repeated, giving a disbelieving snort. "Dude, I don't think either of us is okay right now. I'm still freaking out man." He admitted. "After that... guy, disappeared I thought that you were, I thought that maybe you were dead. I mean things got really weird after you passed out alright?"

"What happened after I passed out?" Jeremy asked. He really wanted to know just what his friend had witnessed after...

-Jeremy.-

He jumped.

That voice, where on earth was it coming from?

"Right, well, okay and, this is where things start to get really, really weird so I'm just going to need you to let me talk and get through it before you ask any questions okay?" He waited until he'd gotten a nod of confirmation from his best friend before he took in a deep breath and started into his tale. "Okay so after you passed out, the guy said something, it sounded like some sort of cheat code for a video game. You know like ups and downs and Bs and what not? Which I thought was strange, and than that woman, she just, she started screaming. These weird patterns appeared over her skin, like some type of...god I don't even know how to describe it. Her voice switched from these deep sounding, foggy threats to these really high pitched skrillex screams and than she just...it was like she melted, but not like a melting candle or anything, she just sort of...fell apart? Shit, it was like watching a bunch of tiny Lego blocks falling apart."

Even though Jeremy had been there himself to see some of the pretty strange things, what Michael was talking about just sounded like someone on a really bad SLD trip. But he kept his thoughts to himself, keeping his lips seal tightly as he waited for his friend to continue.

"And that guy, by the time I looked back at him he was... it was like nothing had ever happened to him at all, there was no bruises, no blood, not a single mark on him. He just looked like he was about to pass out and his skin...there was this weird bluish glow to it, and this light bluey colour that seemed to pulse through him in weird places. I didn't know what he was going to do, or if he could do the same thing to me that he did to her and I froze. Than he just looked down at you and disappeared."

"You mean he left?" Jeremy asked. "Which way did he go?"

The look that Michael gave him in turn was enough to send a shiver down his spine. He looked like he was on the verge of an attack.

"He didn't walk away Jeremy. He just-fucking-disappeared. Like, I didn't even blink and he was just gone."

"What?" Jeremy gave a shake of his head. He knew that Michael wouldn't lie to him, not about something like this, but how on earth could any of this be possible? This kind of stuff only happened in movies and books and video games, not in real life. People would know about it. Someone would catch footage of it and it would be everywhere. "How is that possible?"

"I have no idea. I mean it just doesn't...I thought that maybe I...but you was there passed out so it couldn't have been and than I got you home and-shit! Jeremy what the fuck man!?"

Jeremy acted quickly, at his friend's side in seconds with his arms around him, rubbing soothing circles into his back while Michael took in deep breaths.

They both stayed silent, not wanting to mention anything at the moment and make their situation even worse. First things first, he needed to calm Michael down, make sure that he wasn't about to tip off the edge, than they could figure out just where they were supposed to go from here.

-Jeremy Heere.-

His hold tightened around his friend, his gaze narrowing at the sound of the voice in his mind again. He couldn't be hearing things, this couldn't have been apart of some type of auditory hallucinations. He was legit hearing someone trying to speak to him in his mind.

If all of last night and what his friend had just told him hadn't happened he wouldn't have thought it was true. It still might not have been, but there couldn't be any harm in trying.

-Is someone there?-

If whoever it was was able to speak to him in his head, than maybe Jeremy could do the same thing. He let out a small sigh of relief when he heard a scoff echo in the back of his mind. Well that was good, there was no way he was going to start talking out loud to himself and just freak Michael out even more.

-Finally. I've been trying to contact you for hours.-

-Who is this?-

The voice went silent, and Jeremy zeroed back in on what was happening outside of his head when Michael slowly started to pull back. Taking the hint he removed his arms from his friends person, giving him an encouraging smile that was halfheartedly returned.

"I told everyone else that you had just gotten sick." He said, pulling his sleeves over his hands and wiping quickly at his eyes for a moment. "But I... what are we supposed to do?"

"I... just wait one second."

If there was going to be anyone who would be able to answer him, he was sure it was going to be the voice that had invaded his thoughts.

-Invade is such a strong word.-

-Who are you?-

This time he was more forceful in his question, his gaze narrowing at the opposite end of his bedroom, Michael's concerned gaze going unnoticed.

-I've taken to calling myself William.-

-So you're the guy we met last night? What the hell was all that about?-

But he was met with nothing. The voice going silent again.

Giving out a harsh sigh he turned back to his friend, frowning at the other for a moment as he tried to think of the best way to put what he had to say next.

"So, this is gonna sound really weird..."

"I think with everything that's been happening nothing could get much weirder." Michael muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hood.

"Right," Jeremy mumbled, his eyes darting off to the side for a moment before they locked on the face of his best friend, "well, I'm pretty sure that the guy from last night is...talking to me."

Michael's eyes went wide, his mouth falling open as his shoulders tensed.

"What? How!? You've been blacked out since last night and you only just got up! How is that...!"

"I can hear him." Jeremy interrupted, his face flushing as his nerves started to twist his stomach. "Or at least... I think I can? He was just speaking to me but than..."

The sound of something smashing to the ground made them both jump, snapping their heads around to glance at his closed door for a moment. Slowly they turned back to one another, wondering just what that could have been before they jumped to their feet.

Michael reached the door before he did, nearly ripping it off its hinges in a state of panic over the rest of his friends. Jeremy couldn't say he blamed him at all, he was also freaking out. What if those things were back? What if they were here because they had seen to much and needed to be gotten rid of? What if they were going to kill everyone here just to keep them silent?

All of these thoughts and more raced through his mind as he followed his friend out of his room, hot on his heels before they both came to an abrupt stop at the sight before them.

Rich, apparently, had been the one who had made the loud noise, his hands shaking as the remains of a heavy, glass mug laid on the ground at his feet, the brown liquid soaking through his socks and the bottom of his jeans. Jake on the other hand looked like he was shell shocked, his gaze locked in the same place that Rich's was with his mouth hanging open and his posture stiff even with his arm around a confused Christine's shoulders. Jeremy honestly couldn't say that he blamed them though, because standing right inside the doorway, twirling the spare keys around his finger as if he had every right to be in their home, was that guy from last night.

Nobody moved, except Christine, bless her heart, who looked between all of them and than at the stranger standing in them house.

A high pitched squeal that would have taken the gold over a tween seeing her favourite boy band, tore passed Rich's lips as his whole face lit up, the tiny male bursting from his place in the kitchen over to the other and launching himself into his chest.

"Oh my god! Will!"

Jake moved than, standing to his full height in one swift motion while Rich continued to hug the life out of the man.

Glancing at Micheal from the corner of his eye he couldn't help but notice the way that his friend tensed. He wasn't sure if it was out of fear for Rich's safety, or jealousy over the fact that these guys seemed to know each other and happened to be very close.

'Will' himself seemed a little surprise at the human octopus that was holding him, his eyes wider than Jeremy was sure they had been in years as he stared down at the red streaked haired boy.

"Richard?"

Jeremy wasn't sure what to make of any of this as Jake suddenly joined in, wrapping around both of the others and tightening his hold until even Rich was gasping out for air.

"What the fuck is going on?" Michael muttered at his side, keeping his voice low as they watched in stunned silence while the three pulled away from each other.

Jeremy just shrugged, he had no idea what this... What the hell was going on? What were they even supposed to do in this type of situation? It seemed rude to interrupt such an intimate moment between, what appeared to be a group of long lost friends or something, but at the same time...just what the hell? This Will guy had nearly been dead just yesterday. They'd been hunted down by some creepy lady and had barely made it out alive. Apparently this guy had gone and killed her or some shit somehow! Just what was he doing here and how the hell did they all seem to know each other?

His body froze, his whole posture becoming stiff when Will's gaze darted over to him briefly before they snapped back to the other two in front of him.

"Jacob? What are you two doing here?"

"I can't believe your still alive." Jake grinned, ignoring the question as his hand came up and wrapped around the back of Will's neck, pulling him in until their foreheads were pressed firmly together. "I didn't think you were going to make it."

"I did!" Rich suddenly exclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest as he grinned smugly back up at them. "I knew there was no way that you would let them take you out!"

Will gave them a tight lipped smile, his lips twisting awkwardly as if he wasn't use to the action and hadn't done it in his life. The expression was soon gone however, his gaze narrowing as he looked between the two before him.

"I have to say that I'm quiet pleased that you two made it as well." Ugh! What was going on!?

"Feel free to stay as long as you'd like." Christine pipped up, getting up from her seat as all of their attention drew to her. Always the one to make everyone feel welcome. "I'm going to be making dinner shortly, is there anything that I can make special for you guys?"

Jeremy felt his stomach twist for a whole new reason as Will's eyes narrowed sharply at the girl. What was his problem? Christine was just trying to be nice and he looked as if her even asking the question had been the most abominable thing in the world.

"Anything you make will be great Chrisy." Jake said, a smile over his face as he tossed an arm around Will's shoulders. "We're just gonna go talk in private for a moment if..."

"That's unnecessary." Will said, cutting Jake off as he pointed his hand over to where Jeremy stood. "I'm just here for him."

Jeremy felt his mouth go dry. His palms suddenly became way to sweaty, his heart beating a mile a minute under his skin as he subconsciously took a step back.

Was he about to be murdered? Was he about to be killed in front of all of his friends? This is really not how he wanted to go out. Especially not at such a young age. He hadn't even had sex yet!

"To much information." Will snarled, his face twisting into one of disgust although Jeremy could see a light hue coming to his cheeks.

What on earth was he talking about? No one had said anythi...

Will suddenly hissed, his hand coming up to press against his head as he screwed his eyes shut like he was in some sort of pain. Rich was quick to be by his side, moving his hand to rest on Will's shoulder in comfort while Jake took a glance between Jeremy and the stranger, a type of realization overcoming his features as he a curse slipped passed his lips.

"He's your host isn't he?"

"Okay what the hell is going on?" Michael finally asked, no doubt the sharp tone in his voice being caused more by Rich openly fawning over someone than what was really happening.

"This is the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life." Will growled, his eyes still screwed tightly, his body curling more into himself, Rich becoming slightly more panicked the worse he seemed to get.

What was wrong with him? Hadn't he been fine just a few..?

-Can you please SHUT, UP!?-

The voice in his head was back, making him jerk suddenly as his mouth slipped open.

-Holy shit! Are we actually speaking telepathically!?-

This was the coolest thing ever! He couldn't believe that any of this was...

-Stop thinking!-

The snarl that pulled at William's lips matched the words in his mind perfectly.

Still Jeremy couldn't see what he was doing wrong. What did his thoughts have to do with anything? If Will was feeling pain over speaking to him that way than why didn't he just..?

"Oh my god he doesn't stop." Will snapped, gently pushing Rich away as he glared at Jeremy from across the room between the spaces in his fingers. "If you're not going to stop thinking than at least make them quieter. They were manageable from a distance but it feels like your scrapping at the inside of my brain with an electrified rod wrapped in barbwire."

Oh? Were his thoughts that bad? Wait... did that mean that Will could hear every thought in his..?

"Yes!"

-Oh shit.-

Jeremy wasn't sure what to do at the glare he received in turn for that thought. Sucking in his lips, he snapped to attention as if he could somehow make his body long enough to disappear into nothing.

"I'm sorry." Christine's quiet voice draw all of their attention once more, her brows pulled together as she stared between them all again. "I feel like I'm being left out of the loop here. Just what is going on?"

At her question Jake let out a long sigh, his shoulders dropping as he took a quick glance back at Rich, who in turn shook his head, his gaze dropping to the ground a second later as if he didn't want to look up and face anyone else.

"Okay, well, I think we should all talk."

"Finally!" Michael huffed, his arms crossing tightly over his shoulders as Will let out a low growl.

"I don't have time for this Jacob. I just came to grab my host and leave."

"You can't just take Jeremy, Will." Jake said, earning the glare that had been directed at Jeremy earlier, however the looked didn't seem to phase him in the slightest. "You know that."

The tension in the room grew thick as the two stared each other down. Neither one was going to be the first to give in, and as the seconds ticked by Jeremy could tell that his two friends were growing more and more worried. Surprisingly Rich was the one who cut the tension, his hand reaching out to grab a hold of Will's wrist, successfully breaking his concentration and turning his focus else where.

"It's nice to have you back." He said, his voice soft and vulnerable, something Jeremy had never heard from him before. "Let's sit down and talk okay?"

Will frowned, but he didn't protest being pulled deeper into the house and his glare softened some so Jeremy figured it was okay and no one was going to die anytime soon.

Taking a glance over at Christine he watched as she sat down on the coffee table, her elbows resting on her knees and her chin resting in her hands as Jake moved over to grab the chairs from around the table and move them over until they had a small circle of chairs facing each other.

Will dropped himself heavily in one of the chairs, a sigh passing though his nose as he crossed his arms firmly over his chest. Rich took a seat next to him, but on the couch, where Michael was quick to fill in the remaining space, wrapping an arm tightly around his boyfriend's shoulder and all but pulling Rich onto his lap. Jake took a seat on Will's other side, the space also being right next to Christine as he reached out and took her hand, smiling at her in reassurance as she squeezed his hand back. Jeremy was the last to sit, taking the chair that sat right across Will's own and digging his fingers into the material of his jeans.

"Okay," Jake started, turning to face the group as a whole, "let talk."


	4. Chapter 4

More Than Survive

Chapter 4

Even though Jake had given them all permission, no one said a word. None of them were really sure what to say, and no doubt poor Christine had no idea what was going on. While everything must have seemed strange to her, she hadn't been there last night to see just what Micheal and Jeremy had.

Were Rich and Jake like Will? How did they all know each other? Could Rich do what Will could? Should Jeremy just have been counting his lucky stars that he hadn't been secretly killed by his best friend's boyfriend if he could? Why had that lady been chasing after him? Were these guys the good ones? Or was it going to be that other group? Was there even a group? Or had she been acting on her own? Were other people going to come after them because he so did not want to be caught in the middle of whatever this was.

All of these questions and more floated around Jeremy's head, but he didn't utter a word of them out loud. He didn't want to be the first one to speak, didn't want to be the one to break the ice that had frozen over the room.

When Will arched a brow at him however his face flushed, just remembering that he could read his thoughts. That was really going to suck, and make things super awkward. His mind did have a habit of trailing off, sometimes to things that he would have much preferred to keep private.

The scoff that pulled passed the others lips drew everyone's attention, none of them understanding just what he was reacting over. Will didn't seem to care as he straightened out even more in his seat before taking a moment to peer at each person.

"Since no one has taken the opportunity to speak, I will be answering Jeremy's questions."

When Micheal's head snapped around to face him, Jeremy tucked his chin against his chest, his ears burning brightly at being called out and having his thoughts exposed. Sure, they weren't all that personal and whatnot, but what if Will later blurted out some of the real personal stuff? He'd never be able to take the humiliation.

"Rich and Jake are very much like me, but slightly older models." Will began, nodding his head to the two mentioned as Rich snapped up and Jake raised his chin a little.

"Wait, you're like him?" Micheal asked, staring down at the one next to his side, Rich's shoulders curling up to his ears as he refused to make eye contact, any pride he'd had over being mentioned shattering at the tone of his boyfriend's voice. "What does that mean?"

Without saying a word, Rich lifted his hand, taking in a deep breath before a small snap emitted from his fingertips. Jeremy could feel his mouth falling open at the sight of thick blue sparks dancing across Rich's palm, the realization hitting him out of nowhere about the woman last night.

She didn't have a taser. She fucking was one!

If that wasn't strange enough, Rich's appearance altered. At first, it wasn't to noticeable, but his skin grew a shade paler, a dull blue glow seeming to pulse underneath his skin while strange sorts of patterns highlighted certain parts of his body. Than his eyes, eyes that Micheal had gone on about for hours with Jeremy over how warm and inviting they were, like a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day, disappeared. In the place where two admittedly beautiful brown orbs had been, sat two sapphires, bright as the sun and sharp as any diamonds edge.

The silence dropped again, but Rich didn't move his gaze from Micheal to see everyone else reaction. He just sat there, his gaze strictly on the one before him as Micheal continued to stare, mouth agape, at the one he'd known for the last six years.

Rich cleared his throat, drawing Micheal's attention to his face as the boy's own eyes shifted to the side. "Uh, I can, do a few other things too." He mumbled, clenching his hand into a fist and snuffing out the sparks before resting it on his leg. "Alter my appearance slightly, access the internet and any information from anywhere, control certain types of technology, and some other stuff."

Jeremy watched his friend carefully, they all did, as he took in the information about someone he'd been close with for years now. While Jeremy could understand why Rich hadn't told them, seriously who would have believed him anyways? Micheal was never the one who liked to be left out about what was going on around him, especially by those that he cared about. So he watched, as the red fabric resting over tense shoulders relaxed, as Micheal shifted slightly until he was leaning back on the couch with his arm draped over the back, his face carefully blank. Any tension that had slipped from him was picked up by Rich. The guy just stiffening up more and more with each passing second as he quickly altered his appearance back to what they had all come to know. When he went to shift himself slightly closer to Micheal, the bigger male held out his hand, stopping him in his tracks as he gave a slow shake of his head.

"I...I need time to process this."

His words had an instant effect on Rich as the boy dropped his head down, his knees rising to his chest as his arms wrapped around his legs tightly. Jeremy could still see the slight tremor in his hands no matter how tightly he held onto his shins, and he couldn't help but feel his heart go out to the guy. He was sure that Micheal didn't hate him, but it was going to take some time to wrap his head around the news.

"Can you do that too?" Christine asked softly, catching Jeremy's attention to see her staring up at Jake.

"Ya." He made no move to show her however, a tight smile appearing over his lips as he finally looked down at her. "You, uh, you mad?"

Christine chewed on the corner of her bottom lip, her eyes slightly narrowed as they glanced to the side for a moment. She took her time in thinking about it, and only once she seemed to reach her answer did she look back at Jake.

"A little." She admitted before she quickly added. "But not about you being...you know, like this. Just, I guess I'm more upset than mad? This must have been a huge thing to keep to yourself and I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you sooner."

The smile that lit up Jake's face not even a moment later was nearly blinding, Jeremy found himself having to look away, back toward the other side of the circle to see Rich peering at them over his knees with envy.

"Is everyone alright?" Will's voice was a surprise to everyone, and Jeremy found his gaze snapping over to him without a second thought.

Will looked bored. His gaze only half opened and a single brow arched as his eyes shifted from one side of the room to the other. He didn't seem to care at all about the sudden rift that he had created, and Jeremy kinda hated him for that.

These guys were his friends and sure, while he was closer with Micheal and Christine, he was still on mostly friendly terms with Jake and Rich, more so with Jake though, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Will had carelessly just outed two people that obviously hadn't been ready to share this kind of thing with anyone yet, and even though Jeremy had wondered about it himself, there had been a reason he hadn't asked about it in the first place besides just not wanting to speak first.

He didn't even care that he had just ruined everything.

-Don't be so dramatic.-

Jeremy glared across the room at the other when his gaze finally moved back over to him.

-Your friends would have found out eventually. I'm just speeding up the process.-

-You could have handled it better.-

Jeremy countered, slumping back in his seat, earning himself an eye roll.

-Honestly, are all humans this sensitive?-

"What are you?" Jeremy didn't bother answering his question, asking one of his own instead as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't miss the way that Will's eyes narrowed. Apparently the guy didn't like being ignored. He was going to have to file that away for later. "And who made you?"

"Squips." Will replied curtly, "And we were made in Japan."

Go figure.

"What the hell is a Squip?" Jeremy asked instead, his head tilting to the side as Will smirked back at him.

"It is what we are."

Oh, that prick. Now he was just trying to piss him off. Jeremy wasn't going to have any of it though, and purposely turned his entire body to face Jake. He highly doubted that Rich really wanted to talk to anyone right now, and Jake no doubt knew how to explain the situation better than the others.

"Jake?"

That was all Jake needed in order to turn to Jeremy, his hand slowly tightening on Christine's as he spoke. "It was like a black site program." Jake said, Will's gaze snapping over to him not going unnoticed by Jeremy. "No one was supposed to know about what was going on. They

created us in test tubes and synthetic wombs and..."

"That's enough." The tone of Will's voice had Jake snapping his mouth shut, his eyes darting over to the apparent leader as Will then stood from his seat. "I didn't come here to explain our history to a bunch of humans. I came to get my host. If my energy is dependent on him now than I need to make him stronger. As much as it pains me I can't have him passing out every time I need to use a surplus of power."

"I'm not going with you." Jeremy frowned, shaking his head as he sunk deeper into his chair.

Like hell he was going to allow himself to be taken away by some stranger he barely knew just to be used as some type of walking, talking battery. He had a life here, his friends were here, and if Rich and Jake had no problem with staying around them and acting normal, than why couldn't Will do that as well?

"I will make you go if you-." Will didn't get to finish his sentence as his whole body jerked, doubling over with his hands snapping up to grab at either side of his head while he screamed.

Jeremy was screaming too. In his mind. As loud as he possibly could.

-Fuck you too asshole.-

He stopped, not wanting to push the other to far as he stood up from his chair as well. Will was on his knees, breathing heavily with his head still tilted towards the floor, his shoulders heaving as his hands tightened in the slight curls of his hair.

"You can't make me go any where."

The rest of the group looked shocked, their mouths hanging open and their eyes comically wide as Jeremy turned his attention back to Jake.

"What is a 'host' anyways? Is there any way to... I don't know, undo it's effects or something?"

Half of Jake's attention was still on the dark haired male who was slowly getting back onto his feet, the other half trying to translate what it was Jeremy was talking about as he got ready to pounce on the other if need be.

"Um... no," He mumbled, his eyes never once moving away from William who was finally back to standing up, the glare he was shooting at Jeremy enough to peel the very skin from his bones. "No, it's, um, it's permanent."

"You little shit." The curse sounded wrong as it was spat from behind clenched teeth, blue eyes so narrowed that he could barely make out the colour from underneath dark, thick lashes.

"I'm not going anywhere." Jeremy repeated, for once in his life standing up for himself.

If he'd been alone he was sure that this conversation would have turned out very different. Hell, he would have been kidnapped within the first few minutes of Will showing up at his home. But his friends were still with him, and he wasn't about to leave them any time soon, especially not to take off to who knows where doing who knows what with who knows who.

Will let out a growl, a low rumbling sound from the very depths of his chest.

"Ya," Michael agreed, getting up from his spot as well and standing next to Jeremy's side. "Jeremy's our friend and he's not marching off to some weird...wherever with you."

"I'm sorry but I have to agree." Christine chimed in as she took up the spot on Jeremy's other side. "Feel free to stay with us if you'd like, but it's rather selfish to try and disrupt his whole life just to suit your own needs."

"If he hadn't gotten in my way none of this would be happening and I would have happily moved on from this place." Will snapped, and wow, was Jeremy just noticing for the first time how sharp all of those teeth were. They looked like they would have no problem ripping out his throat. Yikes.

"News flash dude." Micheal scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he shifted his weight over to one side. "You would have di..."

Micheal's words were interrupted, this time by Jeremy's scream as he jolted violently at his friend's side. For a moment he couldn't move, his whole body tense, as taut as a bow string that had been yanked back. After the feeling passed he stumbled, gasping down a large breath of air that had been stolen from his lungs and stumbling slightly. It took him a little longer to find his focus, his vision swimming in a swirl of colours before they zeroed in on the brightest blues he'd ever seen.

"You are not the only one who can cause pain you know."

He scowled, cursing out the guy with every insult in the book for the feral smirk set over his lips.

"What the hell just happened?" Micheal gasped, Christine already at Jeremy's side. "What did you do?"

"Just a simple little shock." Will shrugged.

Much to Jeremy's surprise, it was neither Micheal or Christine who stood to his defence, nor was it Jake. Rich moved before any of them could blink, his tiny form standing before William and somehow seeming to tower over him even though he was a good head shorter.

"Stop it." They all froze, the command making them all stare at the other in awe as he spun around to face the rest of them. "That goes for you too Jeremy."

Jeremy couldn't find it in himself to say anything. He'd always thought that Rich was intimidating, but the sudden spark in his eyes and the dull blue glow of his skin only appeared to make the rest of his face look darker in contrast, his frame seeming bigger and more solid more commanding than Jeremy had ever seen him before.

Rich scowled, his head turned back and forth between the two before he took a step back, standing on the outside of the circle to better address everyone.

"Look guys, I know this isn't easy, and I get that it's a lot to take in." He muttered, his gaze refusing to met Micheal's eyes but his words slightly pointed at the other. "But we're not going to get anywhere at this rate. I'm just going to lay out some simple facts for you all right now and once everyone has heard them out, you can do whatever you want. Are we all clear?"

Everyone nodded, even Will, for once seeming to be willing to keep his mouth shut on the matter.

"Perfect." With a roll of his eyes so large Jeremy was surprised they didn't just popped out of his head, Rich pressed forward. "Will, we all live here, we're all going to school here. You can't just come in and kidnap Jeremy because you made him your host, and you can't shock him like that either. Or, you know, at least not that strongly. Ease up a bit, he's only human. If you want to stay here no ones going to have a problem with it, and if they do," he said, picking up volume when Micheal made a sound, "they'll get use to it."

Next he turned his attention to the other three, his gaze moving over each of his friends, narrowed in thought before he dropped his gaze to their feet.

"I'm really sorry that you guys had to find out this way. Me and Jake were going to tell you eventually, but... it doesn't matter." He muttered, his voice carrying an edge of darkness and bitter resentment to it that tore at Jeremy's own heart. "Jeremy, you're Will's host now. There's nothing that you can do to change that. His energy, his power, that's all going to rely on you, and if you're not strong enough to handle that, it will end up destroying you."

A shiver that had nothing to do with the cold ran down Jeremy's spine as bright blue orbs lifted and locked with his own.

Rich wasn't lying.

"You shouldn't be trying to hurt Will either. You guys are going to have to be a team and work together. You won't be able to function properly if you're attacking one another. It's just not going to work."

He stopped talking, giving them all a once over before he shook his head and turned to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?" It was Micheal who asked, that being the only reason that Rich stopped long enough to speak over his shoulder.

"Out."

None of them said a word as he snatched his jacket off of the kitchen table. It was only once he started shoving his arms through the holes that any of them moved, Will walking up next to him. Jeremy watched as the two shared a meaningful look, Rich's very being relaxing as he gave a shake of his head and finished doing up his jacket. Without a word to anyone else, they headed out of the house, the loud thud of the door slamming shut making each of them flinch in turn.

Micheal followed suit, making a beeline towards his own room and snapping his door shut before he slid the lock in place as well.

Okay, so he wasn't to be disturbed for at least a few hours. Good to know.

Turning back to the last few still left, Jeremy wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Jake just stared back at him, giving him a tight lipped sheepish smile that didn't quiet reach his eyes. Christine's attention was still a head, her eyes watching the two different places that her friends were as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

"So," he flinched, his voice sounded way to loud in the suddenly empty room as he cleared out his throat and tried again. "So, basically, everything is pretty much the same?"

"In a sense I suppose." Jake agreed with a jerky shrug of his shoulders, as if his body had somehow become unaccustomed to the movement. "Just, you know, now some of your roommates have really weird superpowers basically."

Ya, sure. Just every day normal stuff than.

Nodding his head along numbly, Jeremy dropped himself into the couch cushions. He didn't make a move to interrupt the two when they started a hushed conversation between each other, his mind felt like it was being pulled in way to many places at once and he wasn't sure just where he was suppose to start with it.

-You still there?-

-I can't exactly block you out now can I?-

Jeremy scrunched up his nose at the response. Really there were a few other things that he could be doing other than talking to this jerk but...

-How's Rich doing?-

For a long time, there was no reply. Just an emptiness in his mind that he had never noticed had been there before. When he started to think that he wasn't going to get an answer he was just about to get up and head to his room, maybe sleep off the oncoming headache before it got worse but than Will's disjointed voice was back.

-Not well, but I'll look out for him.-

Jeremy hadn't even noticed that he'd been holding in a breath until he heard those words. Letting out a long sigh he did stand up, getting ready to head to his room to clean it. If he was going to be sharing it with someone it was really going to need a full scrub through.

-Thank you.-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Qistiko I reread my work this time and tried really hard to find the right then and thans! Let me know if you still find that I've used them in the wrong place k!? :D 
> 
> Also I had to rewrite this chapter four different times so sorry it took so long to get up. :P


	5. Chapter 5

"Jeremy?"

His head snapped up, slamming against the top of his desk with a loud crack at the soft call of his name. Muttering out a curse under his breath, he rubbed at the sore spot of his skull before he tossed a look over his shoulder to see who it was.

Christine stood in his doorway, quickly making her way in to attend to him.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked, her brows drawing together in concern while she crouched down next to him. "Does it hurt? Do you need ice?"

He waved her off, forcing a small chuckle passed his lips to try and hide just how much it had really hurt.

"I'm fine." He assured her, rocking back until he was sitting on his heels. "What can I do for you?"

She didn't answer right away, her eyes instead darting around the room probably to help gather her thoughts a little bit before she spoke.

"I don't think I've ever seen your room so clean."

There was no judgment to the words, no malice or disgust behind them as she turned her attention back to his while a groan slipped passed his lips.

"Oh my god I know. It's taken me hours." He mumbled, and at least a quarter of that time had been spent trying to find a place to hide his porn stash before Will had snapped at him telepathically to stop thinking about it. Really if the guy had access to his thoughts there was no point in him worrying about something as mild as his extensive porn collection. "But I think it looks good. Still not sure where I'm gonna put my new roommate but I'll figure something out."

"I have a blow up bed if it helps." Christine offered, her lightly glossed lips pulled up into a sweet smile.

"That would actually be a big help." Jeremy admitted. "I'll make sure to give it back to you as soon as we find something else."

Although she appeared happy to have helped, Jeremy could tell that it wasn't the reason that she had come to talk to him. She kept playing with her fingers, twisting the digits around each other and bending them this way and that. Her gaze never stayed on his for long, and her brows still had that somewhat upward tilt that they got whenever she was starting to get nervous about something.

Not wanting to push her he sat back, leaning on his hands as he gave a tilt of his head.

"How's Jake?"

The question drew her attention back to him, her eyes sparkling in the way they did whenever Jake's name was mentioned.

"He's doing well. We had a, very long, talk and I feel that we're in a much better place than before." Her voice was light, like a warm caress from a southern breeze and it made Jeremy smile to be in the vicinity of it. "But..." At this, her face fell, her hands dropping to her lap before she pressed forward, "I'm worried, about Micheal and Rich. Rich isn't back yet and I can't get Micheal out of his room."

Taking a quick glance over at his clock Jeremy felt as if someone had given him a sucker punch in the gut at the sight of the numbers. It was eleven forty five. Rich and Will had been gone for nearly three hours. He knew it was late but he hadn't thought that it was quite that time just yet.

"I've been speaking with Will," He admitted as he turned back to her, tapping his finger against his skull when he received a confused look from her, "you know, telepathically."

"Oh! Right! Will did say something about that didn't he?" She said, a smile blooming over her face once more. "That must be nice."

Well, that was a far cry from the truth, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that. Instead he just gave a tight smile and a nod of his head, quickly moving on to the next part.

"He says that him and Rich are okay. He won't say what they're doing, but I don't think that they'll do anything stupid. They did say that we had to act normal and not draw attention to ourselves so I don't think we'll have to worry about them setting a fire to anything."

She giggled slightly, seeming to ease up for a moment before she looked at him once more.

"Still, what about Micheal?"

And this was a whole problem on its own.

"I've tried talking to him, me and Jake even made his favourite meal and I asked if he wanted to watch that new superhero movie with us and he still wouldn't come out."

"Don't worry Chrisy," Jeremy said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he smiled up at her. "I'll go talk to him alright? He's probably just, you know, still trying to get use to it all."

Although she nodded her head, the look of worry in her gaze didn't ease up as much as he'd been hoping for. Giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze he rocked himself to his feet, offering out his hand and helping her up as well.

"Thank you for doing this Jeremy." She said. "I'll get the mattress and set it up in here."

"Thanks."

Once they had walked out of his room, they both went their separate ways, Christine taking a left to her room, and Jeremy heading forward, straight for the three steps that lead to the top level of the house.

He'd known that Micheal was going to need some time to himself, it had been the whole reason why he'd bothered to start cleaning up his room in the first place, but now it was time for Jeremy to intervene.

Walking up to his friend's door he smiled at the stickers that covered it. The bright rainbow and bi sticker walking hand in hand with big stupid grins on their faces that held a picture of Rich and Micheal in a selfie smiling up at the camera. There were other pictures, some of Rich and Jake, or of Micheal and Jeremy or Christine, or just all of them hanging out together or at events. Even though it had just started with Rich's and Micheal's pictures the rest of the house hold had thought it was a fun idea to place their own momentos upon the cluttered door. As he stared up at the picture of the two now he could only hope that it wasn't going to be the last one that they ever took together.

Taking in a deep breath he raised his fist and gently rapped upon the door.

"Micheal?"

There wasn't a word said. Nothing but silence greeted him as he tried again.

"Micheal? Come on man, I know you're in there."

"Go away Jeremy."

Okay. He was talking, that was a good sign.

"Micheal please open up the door. I just want to talk with you okay?"

"I'm not in the mood Jeremy. Please just go away."

This wasn't going to get him anywhere. At this rate he was going to be in his sixties before he managed to get the other to open up. Placing his hands on his hips Jeremy glared at the door before him, the only obstacle in the way of getting to his best friend. His gaze narrowed sharply, but without a second thought he turned on his heels and walked away.

Fine. He couldn't get in through the door, but he knew for a fact that he could still use the window.

Not seeing a reason to grab his jacket from the closet he bypassed it, moving straight for the front door and ignoring the strange looks he got from either of his friends. An involuntary shiver was ripped from him when he pulled the door open, the chilly breeze kissing his skin as he curled his shoulders towards his chest as much as he could.

Determined to get this over with as fast as he could so that he could be back inside in the warmth, he made a straight beeline for Micheal's and Rich's room window. Once he was there he carefully manoeuvred the create that they had left there just for this reason. Once he was standing on it he was at just the right height to tap on the window, giving his friend at least some warning before he slid it open.

Micheal didn't move, he sat on his bed, in the dark, staring down at an object in his hands. It wasn't until Jeremy had shut the window and turned around that he was able to make out the tiny object, his heart going out to his friend when he saw that it was the promise ring that he'd bought.

"Micheal..."

"I know. I'm being a dick."

He wasn't going to say that, not even close. With a long sigh Jeremy walked over to him, glad for the TV that had been left on the Mario Cart home screen for casting at least some light upon them. As he took a seat he threw his arm around his friend's shoulders, sitting next to him in the dark as he looked him over.

He couldn't see well behind the reflection that covered his glasses, but the slight puff to the area around Micheal's eyes was enough of a give away to what he'd been doing for most of the time locked away. Jeremy wasn't even sure what he could say to try and cheer up his friend, he had no idea just what he could tell him in order to make him feel better and to take the pain away. So he didn't. He just stayed by his side, becoming a pillar of support that Micheal eventually sunk into, running his hand up and down the others arm as he took in a shaky breath.

"I keep seeing Rich in Will's place." He eventually mumbled, his voice so low that Jeremy almost didn't catch it over the looping theme music. "I keep seeing him all bloody and torn, being hunted down by that...thing." One of his hands came up, wiping away tears from his eyes before he pushed forward. "I always thought that I would be able to protect him from anything, but this is...it's so far out of my league, I don't even...what am I supposed to do if someone comes for him? There's nothing I can do to protect him, nothing I can do to help."

He sounded so broken, so lost. Jeremy wished that he had some words of encouragement, he wished that there was something that he could do that would have been able to prove Micheal wrong, but he knew that in a way, his best friend was right.

If Will hadn't come to when he did, if he hadn't connected with Jeremy and used his energy to fight against that woman, they would have all been taken out. It wouldn't have even been that hard. Compared to people who could change appearance and summon what was basically lightning at will, there was nothing that he could think of that they could do to stop them. Nothing that they could do to help.

Really, the squips were on their own, Jeremy understood that, but it was never going to sit right with Micheal.

Micheal was always the one to jump into action. He was always the one who would be willing to help someone out no matter the personal cost. When his friends needed him, he was right there by their side. There wasn't anything that he couldn't do if it was for someone that he cared about. But this... it was beyond dangerous to think of stepping between the two sides. They weren't like their other roommates, they had nothing to fight back with.

And Jeremy knew that Micheal could see that.

If someone did ever come for Rich like they did with Will, Micheal would still fight. He would die to protect him. But he would lose, and Rich would still be either taken or killed, and that fact alone was what had no doubt been eating at his friend ever since he found out.

"No ones ever come after Rich before..."

"How do we know that!?"

His voice was so loud, so sudden, it startle Jeremy. He found himself frozen in place as Micheal got up, pacing around the dark room with ease while his hands jerked around in wild gestures.

"What if he's been fighting all by himself for all of these years? What if he's actually come closer to death than I noticed? Did you not hear some of his first words to Will? He was happy to see him! Happy that he was still alive! He said that as if it was a normal thing for them to have near death experiences! Like he's been in that situation more than once himself!"

Jeremy said nothing, sitting quietly and watching his friend snarl into the open air, his hands now clenched into tight fists at his sides.

"And he's been hiding this from me for years! What the hell! How could I have not noticed something was off? How could I have not seen it!? What if he was looking for help? What if there were times when he really needed to talk to me about something or needed my help but didn't ask!? What if I had never found out and he just went missing and I never knew why!?" Micheal's voice broke, his last words coming out with a shuttering sob, his shoulders rolling inwards as his hands came up to press against his face.

Jeremy moved quickly, bringing himself to his friend's side in seconds and wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. He bit back on his own gasp when Micheal hugged him back, his strong arms nearly snapping his rib cage as he buried his face into Jeremy's shoulder.

"It's okay Micheal, sh, it's okay." He couldn't think of anything else to say as he held the bigger male, gently rocking him back and forth while he tried to search for anything more comforting.

"I don't want him to get hurt Jeremy. I can't lose him."

Jeremy didn't know what to say, so he only held his friend tighter, hoping that he would understand that he would always be here, that he could always be a sense of support when he needed it.

"Listen," he started softly, pulling away just enough to be able to look his friend in the eye. Micheal looked awful, his glasses smudged, his eyes red and puffy, his whole face splotchy and wet. It broke Jeremy's heart to see his friend like this, and he wished for nothing more than to be able to take the pain away from him, "we can figure this out okay? We can ask them if there's anything that we can do to help. If there's anything that we can do to make sure that they all stay safe alright?" He muttered, earning a hesitant nod from the other. "But, Micheal, Rich just came out to you about what he was, and you kinda just shut him down. I know that your upset and that your worried and frightened, but Rich needs you."

That seemed to do the trick, sobering Micheal up in no time as his gaze finally focused in on Jeremy.

"Right now he thinks that you hate him, that you're never going to forgive him or want to see him again and we both know that it's the furthest thing from the truth right?" When Micheal gave a sharp nod of his head Jeremy couldn't help but smile. "So go find him, and make sure that he knows that too."

"Okay, ya, right. I can do this." Micheal mumbled to himself, giving his cheeks a few slaps to help him recenter himself. "But I have no idea where he is."

"Will told me that they were at the park by the river." Jeremy said, watching as Micheal snatched up a slightly warmer jacket and clenched his one hand tighter around the ring.

"Good a place as any I guess." He mumbled, mostly to himself before he turned back to Jeremy.

They had a second of just standing there and looking at each other, a sense of understanding passing between them, before Micheal trapped him in a bear hug.

"Thanks Jer."

"No problem." Jeremy smiled as he hugged his friend back, releasing him quickly while a smirk grew over his face. "Now go find your little boyfriend."

"You better hope I don't tell him that you said that."

Jeremy's face went pale as Micheal slipped out of the room, giving a quick greeting and even quicker goodbye to Christine and Jake on the couch.

As Jeremy closed their door behind him just as the front door snapped shut, he smiled over at his two friends on the couch.

"Mission accomplished." He grinned, Christine absolutely beaming at him from her spot.

"Thank you Jeremy!" She cheered. "I knew you could do it!"

"Um, but where is Micheal going?" Jake asked, his eyes darting over to the door in concern, as if he was debating whether or not he should follow after him.

"I told him where Rich is so...oh shit! One second!"

-Will?-

-What do you want?-

-Micheal's coming to your location to talk to Rich. It's um, going to get a bit personal so you might want to take off once he gets there.-

Silence filled the space, Jake and Christine looking at him as if they were waiting for him to start speaking again. He waited, his patience growing thin and his nerves growing worse while his fingers tapped against his leg.

Would Will actually listen to him? Or would he tell him to shove it up his ass?

-I would never use such vulgar terms. Especially with such an unoriginal insult.-

Jeremy jumped, not expecting the voice so suddenly before he let out a sigh of relief.

-But, um, you'll leave them alone?-

-I have informed Richard of Micheal's appearance, it is only because he also shares an interest in privacy that I will leave him with your friend.-

-Great. Thanks. See you soon.-

Turning back to his friends, Jeremy walked down the few steps that they had, snatching up a chair and pulling it beside the couch before he dropped himself down on it.

"Alright, now everything is good."

"You sure?" Jake asked, arching a brow at him from over Christine's head as Jeremy gave him a lopsided smile.

"I hope so."

Honestly he had no idea if this whole thing was going to end up better or worse for his friends. While he was sure that everything was going to be just fine, he couldn't deny that he would be ready for the worst if it came to that. If Rich decided that he didn't want to talk to Micheal right now or needed his space or something, Jeremy was more than willing to allow his friend to crash in his room. Besides, Will might enjoy sharing a room with Rich way more than with him anyways.

Still, he had high hopes that they were going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: And we're done. This chapter was actually super easy to write. No rewriting drafts of deleting page upon page. Just right through with only a few backspaces. :D
> 
> Merry Christmas!


	6. Chapter 6

They were about half way through their movie by the time Will walked in.

The moment that he entered the house, his nose twitched in disgust.

"In case any of you were interested, Rich and Micheal have... made up rather well. They will not be coming back home tonight."

Although the news was shocking, Jeremy couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of his lips at just what those words implied. It would seem that Micheal finally took the step, no doubt just throwing any and all plans he had out the window and just asking. Jeremy was sure that it was perfect anyways. No doubt Rich had absolutely loved it.

"Aw! I'm so glad that they managed to work things out!" Christine giggled, hopping up and down on her place on the couch, a smile splitting from ear to ear.

While the other two thought that her excitement was cute, Will just gave a roll of his eyes, kicking off his shoes and making him way into the house.

As the rest turned back to their movie, Will just stood at the edge of the stairs, his posture stiff while he looked around the room. For awhile, Jeremy just ignored him, figuring that he was looking around and scrutinizing their living quarters with distaste. When he took a glance at his from the corner of his eyes however he was a little shocked to see what expression was resting on his face.

Will looked, out of place, uncomfortable, unsure.

His fingers were tapping at his side, stopping when he noticed it, and than starting again when his mind started to slip. The corner of his mouth was pulled to the side, his gaze watching the characters on the screen before they would move over to different parts of the house. There were a few creases in his forehead as fangs poked out to chew lightly on his bottom lip, and Jeremy almost felt bad for him as he turned his head to stare at him.

When their gazes met however Will froze. A moment later and any expression slipped from his features, becoming blank and impassive as his eyes narrowed slightly at the boy sitting next to his friends.

"Um, do you need me to... show you where you'll be staying?"

"I know where your room is located, I have access to your memories remember?" He growled, his gaze burning into Jeremy for a moment before he scoffed, "Than again I suppose the idea of you retaining simple information might be to much to ask."

Jeremy frowned, not amused by the statement.

"Fine. Your mattress is on the floor."

Screw that guy. If he was going to be an asshole, Jeremy wasn't going to waste his time on trying to make him feel at home.

I can hear you.

No shit.

Without turning to face him Jeremy stuck out his tongue, the action earning him a small hiss in return.

A small giggle next to his side made him shift his gaze, his glare turning to his best friend as she watched him. Traitor. Why on earth was she finding this amusing.

"You heading to bed Will? Or do you want to join us?" Jake asked, smiling at his...friend? over his girlfriend's head.

"No I..."

"Oh come on!" Christine grinned, "We could even start it from the beginning. Right guys?"

"Sure, you'd probably like it Will." Jake agreed as Jeremy gave a hard roll of his eyes.

Honestly though, he wouldn't mind starting the movie over, he'd missed the beginning part himself.

Not without a long sigh did Will step down the stairs. Jeremy didn't say a word, only shifting his seat over when a chair was dragged up to his side. Jake grinned, reaching over to the table to pick up the remote control and start the movie over.

"Is there anything that I should know about before we start?" Will whispered, leaning over slightly to speak to Jeremy.

Jeremy was weary, squinting at the dark haired male as if he could figure out if this was some sort of trap if he squinted hard enough at him. When Will arched a brow at his silence he figured that maybe it couldn't hurt to play nice.

"No, not really. I mean, you know at least the basics of Spiderman right?" Jeremy asked, giving a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Who's Spiderman?"

Oh dear.

"Okay, ya, there's a few things that you should know..."

Jeremy spent the rest of the movie whispering story lore to Will, answering any questions that the other had until Jake eventually told them to 'shh', aggressively. The both of them couldn't help but smile or snicker in amusement at the aggravation of their friend before they finally turned their attention to the movie.

Hm, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe they would be able to tolerate each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Just a short little chapter but it was fun to write! :D  
> Sorry that it took so long. ; I had an internet connection from my computer problem, I've actually got up to chapter 10 or so done so I'll have them on here soon! :D   
> By the by, to the reader who points out the corrections I should make, would you mind emailing me Hun? I left my email address on one of your comments! :D Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon! :D


	7. Chapter 7

"We have to talk."

Jeremy barely managed to understand the words before his whole world was flipped over. He let out an incoherent squawk as he face planted the ground, his mattress pressing down on him firmly from above while he blinked at his floor boards.

Um...ow.

With a great deal of effort he pushed away from the floor, grunting at the heavy weight across his back while he slipped out from underneath the many blankets and pillows. Once he got out he sat down on his floor, turning himself so that he could glare at the one who had bothered him first thing at...

"Are you kidding me?" He snapped, rubbing at his eyes before he took another glance at his clock. "It's five am!"

Will, who was picking at the fray ends of his hood, already looked bored and put together. Any of the connections that Jeremy had thought that they had made last night vanishing like dust in the wind.

"As I have said, we need to talk."

"And you couldn't have, I don't know, waited for me to get up?" He grumbled, picking himself off of the floor and getting to his feet. When his eyes glanced over to the place where Will's bed had been before, he was a little shocked to see that Will had already cleaned it up. The mattress was deflated, pushed to the side with the blankets and pillows neatly folded on top.

Jesus, just how early had this guy been up? Did he even need to sleep? They hadn't gotten to bed until two AM. How was he functioning off of only three hours of sleep? Jeremy could barely keep his eyes open.

"My god do you ever stop thinking?" Will grumbled, leaning against Jeremy's desk with his arms crossed.

"You know I've been wondering, why is it that you can read my thoughts without my permission but I can't access yours unless you're trying to reach out to me?" He questioned, leaning over to pick up his bed and put it back on the frame.

"That is one of the things that we need to talk about." Will said, his eyes watching him carefully as Jeremy picked up his blankets and pillows, tossing them carelessly onto the bed. "Take a seat."

Being ordered around in his own bedroom was annoying, but Jeremy did as he was told anyways, sitting down on the bed before he dropped his head in his hands.

"Okay. What is it that we need to talk about?"

"Richard and Jacob can never know about what happened."

Jeremy raised a brow at that, wondering just what it was that he would know that the others wouldn't already know. They had known Will much longer, Jeremy barely knew him for more then twenty four hours.

A heavy sigh fell from Will's lips as he raised his hand to pinch at the space between his eyes.

"The night that you and Micheal found me."

Oh.

Oh!

"Wait, why?" Jeremy asked, his head tilting to the side slightly as he looked the other over, "Wouldn't it be better if you told them? I mean shouldn't they know?"

Now that he was thinking about it though Will had managed to stop Micheal before he mentioned anything about it yesterday too. What was wrong with his friends knowing? Wouldn't they be able to help him?

"That...woman, was a one time thing. There is no reason that Richard and Jacob should be worried about something as tedious as old grudges."

Tedious? Grudges? He had a feeling that if he even so much as mentioned what happened in passing Rich and Jake would have many different words to say about the situation that Jeremy and Micheal had found Will in.

Just as the thought crossed his mind however he yelped, a small shock passing through his body in an instant with less force than yesterday, but enough to make him notice. Glaring up at the other he scowled at him, trying to shake out the reminding tingling of the feeling with a frown.

"Dude what the hell?" He growled. "If you want to talk then go ahead and talk, but I'm allowed to ask questions."

"It would be much easier if you just obeyed. It would take a lot less time and would be a lot less painful on my part." William mumbled, pushing himself away from the desk with his hip before he walked up to bring himself a few feet away from Jeremy. "Now, back to what I was saying..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jeremy waved his hands out in front of him, getting to his feet and forcing the other to take a step back. "Stop right there. This is not going to become a normal thing." William scowled at him openly, crossing his arms over his chest so tightly Jeremy was impressed that he didn't cut off his blood circulation. "Don't give me that look. You want to talk, fine. We're stuck with each other? That's just fan-fucking-tastic isn't it? What isn't going to happen is you not giving me a say in matters and you're sure as hell not going to shock me ever time I don't agree with you. That's not how a partnership works."

"Who says that this is a partnership?" Will scoffed, the sneer over his face just begging for Jeremy to hit him. "A partnership is made up of equals, and anyone with half a brain can see that you are far less superior than me."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Jeremy snapped, reaching out to flick the other on the nose, "but I'm not the one who looks like a brought in stray, and you need me to be able to use your...um powers, so without me, your even less impressive than I am."

Will looked like he'd just been scandalized, his hand coming up to rub at his nose as he jerked back and glared at Jeremy.

"That is not true!" He hissed, "I have done perfectly well on my own,"

"Ya, it shows."

"-and!" Will snapped, jabbing a finger into Jeremy's chest as he continued, "even if I was not able to use my abilities I still have far more physical capability than you!"

Jeremy sighed, knocking his hand away before he rubbed at his eyelids. He was to tired to deal with this much energy first thing in the morning and as much as he hated to admit it, Will was probably right.

"Alright let's get back on track." He sighed shifting his weight over to one foot to try and make himself more comfortable. "You don't want me telling your friends that you almost died. Fine. Cool. What's next?"

Will huffed, and Jeremy refused to think that the gesture was somewhat cute.

"As you have been briefly told, you are now my energy sources. That means I will be drawing any and all energy that I need from you."

"So I'm your walking, talking battery hm? Joy." Jeremy muttered, falling back on to his bed and throwing his arms over his eyes. "Go on."

"What you do not seem to realize," How could he be so angry first thing in the morning? How on earth could he feel anything but sleep pulling at his bones and the consent tug of the dream world? "is that if you want to be able to survive whenever I need it, is that if you are not strong enough, it will kill you. So I am going to start training you."

Jeremy shot up in his bed, staring wide eyed at the male before him. "Wait, what?"

"Starting from today you will undergo an intense training program both before and after school." Will stated matter of factly, getting more and more into his little speech as he started to slowly pace the room, his finger tapping against his chin as he spoke. "Of course I will start you off with only three days. I don't want to completely destroy you. But after about a month or so you will be moving on to daily workouts along with some different types of physical activities that will enhance you coordination and reflexes."

"But I have school." Jeremy whined. "And tests to study for and projects to do! How am I supposed to fit that all in?"

Will's gaze shifted over to him, narrowing sharply as the knuckle of his finger pressed lightly against his lips.

"I realize that it maybe be a hard concept for you to grasp, but plenty of your fellow students manage to juggle everything quite well. Take it as a challenge for you to be able to do the same."

"And just what are you going to be doing while I'm doing all of this?" Jeremy questioned, flopping back and glaring sharply at his ceiling. "Just driving me into the ground and mooching off of our home?"

"Mooching?" Will repeated the word as if he'd never heard it before, his brows drawing together. "If that means what I think it does then no."

"So what will you be doing all day?"

"That is none of your concern."

Although he didn't like it, Will sort of had a point. He guessed that as long as it wasn't going to be something that people would hold anymore 'grudges' against him for there was no reason to believe that it would backfire and turn on his friends. Still, giving Will a blunt up and down once over, he couldn't help but arch his brows at the other.

"You know, I have a feeling that if you can pull your weight around here, maybe you should also take an interest in getting some more clothes."

Will's nose twitched, his fingers tapping against his arm before they stopped. "My outfit is fine. It does what it is supposed to."

"I wasn't kidding when I said you looked like some kind of stray, dude." Jeremy muttered, "if you're going to be job hunting no one will hire you if you walk in like that." He pointed out, eyeing the light dusting of pink over the others cheeks with a tilt of his head. "You own at least one other outfit right?"

When Will went to open his mouth Jeremy was expecting him to start listing off all of the things that he owned, but he came up short. His mouth just opened and closed a few times. Occasionally a wannabe sentence stumbling out before he would shake his head and try again. As he started to realize what the problem was Jeremy suddenly felt a wave of pity wash over him.

"Will," he started slowly, as if he was speaking to a spooked animal, "where do you live right now?"

"What?" Will's snap was curt and defensive, his posture getting stiffer as he glared down at the other.

"When me and Micheal found you, where were you staying at the time? I mean it's only been about, what? Two days? And you haven't once mentioned that you need to go anywhere to pick anything up."

A small hiss slipped passed Will's lips as he took a step back, physically adding space between them as if that would keep Jeremy from getting his answer.

"Why does that matter?"

"Why don't you answer the question?" Jeremy easily asked back, leaning back on his arms.

The last thing that he wanted to do was be to aggressive right now. He'd been in this type of position with all of his friends before. If he became more demanding, the only thing that it would do would make them close themselves off more and more. As long as he reminded relaxed, they would eventually feel comfortable enough to come around to him.

Of course with Will able to see all of his thoughts it didn't hold quite the same effect. Although he seemed to appreciate the less aggressive strategy, he simply shook his head and changed the subject.

"I...I can not think of anything else that I need to tell you right now. If, or when I do, I will let you know." Will mumbled, his gaze suddenly shifting towards Jeremy's window as if he'd found something interesting outside rather than just trying to avoid the others eyes. "I will allow you to continue sleeping today, but our training will start tomorrow."

He went to open his mouth, hoping to get just one last thing out, but Will was quick, moving with a swift stride out Jeremy's door as if he was trying to out walk death's own hand.

If he wasn't allowed to talk to Jake and Rich about what had lead to their meeting, he certainly wasn't going to miss the opportunity to question them on what they knew about the guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Hope everyone had good holidays! :D


	8. Chapter 8

"Rich!"

They had barely managed to get in the door before they were both tackled in a flying hug by the one and only Christine.

"I'm so happy to see you!"

Micheal let out a small laugh, bending over awkwardly as he tried to lower himself to the girl's height while Rich happily hugged her back. Jeremy looked up from the cup of coffee he was nursing with a small grin set across his lips. His friends all practically glowed from where he sat, looking the happiest that he'd seen them in a long time. More at ease than they had been for the past few months as the beginning of yet another school year loomed overhead.

"We weren't even gone all that long." Rich chuckled while Christine pulled back to smile up at them.

"Ya I know that but I'm just so glad that you guys seemed to have worked everything out and-OHMYGOD!"

Her sudden scream startled them all, Jeremy nearly tumbling off his chair in shock while Will let out a small yelp and Jake spilled his cup of orange juice all over himself. Christine didn't seem to notice the chaos that her cry caused, all of her attention was on Rich's left hand. She was gripping onto it, holding it up to her face and looking at the simply designed ring that wrapped snugly around his finger.

"You guys are engaged!"

"No! No! No!" Rich squeaked, his face going bright red as he waved his hands out. "No, um, it's just, you know, a promise ring." He tried to play it off, but his face only grew darker and darker the longer she inspected the new addition to his person.

"Ya, I want to wait until we're out of school before I pop the big question. I don't want to stress out Rich anymore than he's already going to be." Micheal smiled down at the pout that was shot up at him, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders and tugging him in close.

"I'm not going to stress out this year." Rich lied, finally getting his hand back from the short haired girl before him.

Micheal made a small humming noise, wrapping his arm a little bit more until it was tangled in Rich's hair. "That's what you said last year Hun. And you remember what happened."

"Still, it's a 'promise ring'!" Christine continued, placing her hands on her hips as she grinned up at them. "And just so you know, I'm still planning on being the flower girl at your wedding."

"I couldn't think of a cuter girl to give the role to." Micheal grinned, earning himself a small giggle in return.

Christine finally let them finish getting their stuff off, helping them with their coats by putting them away while they got to work on their boots. As the three of them made their way towards the kitchen area, Jeremy got up, smiling widely at his friend as he approached him, clasping his hand on his shoulder in congratulations.

"I'm happy for you buddy." It was the honest truth. For as long as he'd known Micheal the boy had always wanted to find someone that he could spend the rest of his life with, and even though Jeremy and Rich butted heads often enough, he honestly couldn't see anyone who would be better for his best friend than the little, blond, devil. "And you too Rich." Making sure to address his best friend's other half, Jeremy turned to Rich with a soft smile, pleasantly surprised to see him beaming up at him for once rather than seeming to be secretly contemplating his death.

"Thanks Tallass."

With a roll of his eyes but his smile never wavering, Jeremy moved out of the way and back to his seat at the table in order to allow room for Jake to step in and give his own form of congratulations.

Once seated he turned towards Will, unable to help but wonder just what he thought about all of this. Sure, he didn't know Micheal, and he hadn't seen Rich in years, but was he happy for them or could he really just not care less?

Figuring that the guy already knew his question, he took his answer as a no when Will just turned back to his breakfast without a word.

You could at least say something.

Will's gaze shifted towards him, the chipped ice having less and less of an effect on Jeremy the more he was exposed to it.

Isn't Rich your friend? Shouldn't you be happy for him?

He was trying to work on keeping his thoughts quieter, whispering in his mind continuously no matter how dumb he felt about it. Rich had been right when he'd snapped at them yesterday, there was no reason that they couldn't be civil with one another and Jeremy didn't mind making a little bit of effort to make Will more comfortable whenever they had their telepathic conversations. No matter how hard Will was making this whole 'be nice' thing.

Will still didn't reply, scooping up his plate and moving away from the kitchen table to the couch, his back turned to the rest of the group as they continued to speak together enthusiastically.

While Jeremy thought his behaviour was a little odd, he honestly didn't know Will well enough to really comment on it. So instead he ignored it, smiling over at his friends as Micheal made a comment about how hungry he was before he snatched up some of the left over bits of breakfast that they had and handing the plate over to Rich. He was a little shocked when Rich took Will's old seat, sitting next to Jeremy and causing the other to tense up slightly.

With the rest of the group distracted, no one noticed as Rich leaned over, scooting closer to Jeremy and throwing an arm around his shoulders. The gesture was out of character, or at least it was for him to do so to Jeremy. Rich was a very cuddly person, and very touchy, but ever since Jeremy had known him the only time the two had ever had any sort of contact was when Rich was either shoving him into something or hitting him a little to hard for it to be called playful. This solid, firm, reassuring hold he had wrapped around Jeremy's shoulders was just a little unsettling.

"Micheal told me that you talked to him last night." Rich started, his voice a hushed whisper, his smile still over his face so as to not alert anyone about the seriousness of their conversation. "He said that he probably wouldn't have gone to me last night on his own if it hadn't been for you."

Jeremy wasn't to sure what Rich wanted him to say to that. So instead he did the smart thing and kept his mouth shut. If Rich was trying to go somewhere with this, he would come to the point on his own, trying to rush him would just get him to shut down and pull away.

"Thank you."

Well, that was not what he'd been expecting.

"I know that I...I rip on you a lot, and that I don't make things easy, but... I seriously appreciate what you did."

His words were genuine, strong, even if they were a little shaky. Jeremy couldn't help but smile at the guy next to his side, reaching over and ruffling his hair in return.

"I'm just glad that I could help."

Rich smiled at him, an honest to god smile, not a smirk or a sneer, but a full blown soft smile that Jeremy had only ever seen him give a few people. Maybe their relationship would get better, maybe Rich would ease up just a little bit around him and they could...

His thoughts were cut off when a heavy punch was delivered to his upper arm, the whole limb feeling dead not even seconds later as he let out a small yelp.

"Don't get to mushy on me Tallass."

Scowling openly at the little shit Jeremy grumbled lowly under his breath as he shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. Rich just snickered at his side, moving on to his own food as well.

As Micheal came to join them, sitting on the back of the couch so that he could face the rest of them, Jeremy couldn't help but glance over to the part Will had been sitting on, only for his brows to draw together when he saw that it was empty.

Not wanting to unsettle his friends he glanced around discreetly, wondering where on earth the dark haired male had gone, and just why it was that no one had saw him leaving.

Will? Where'd you go?

Nothing but silence greeted his question, and Jeremy couldn't help the small feeling of worry that pressed against his chest. He and Will weren't friends by any meaning of the word, but Will had seemed more distant after the others had come in. Although Jeremy couldn't think of a reason for his suddenly soured mood, he still hoped that he was going to be alright.

(***)

"Hey." Will barely glanced up at Jeremy from where he sat on their tiny porch. "You okay?"

It had taken him a moment to realize that Will had stepped outside, and even longer to wonder if it was okay for him to go out and join him. He was starting to understand the fact that Will was a private guy, and that he obviously didn't mix with others well, but the last thing that Jeremy wanted was for him to be on his own when he was upset. Nobody should have to be alone when they were depressed.

"Are all of you humans so nosy?" Will scoffed, turning away from Jeremy and taking a deep gulp out of his tea, the steam wafting from it evidence of just how hot it still was.

Jeremy didn't take any offence to his words, plopping down beside him and leaning back on his hands. Will could be a dick all he wanted, but Jeremy knew when someone was hurting.

"Is there any way you can stop being so over dramatic?" Will scowled, his lips not moving far from the rim of his cup. "Honestly your antics are going to give me a headache."

"Sorry."

He didn't offer much more then that, simply sitting back and enjoying the early morning as he stared at the rising sun over the row of houses before them.

They continued to sit in their silence, for once, even Jeremy's own thoughts quieted as he just enjoyed the morning.

Normally he would never drag himself out of bed this early, especially on a weekend, but it was actually really nice and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he should start getting up early from now on. Then again he supposed he wasn't going to have to worry about doing that himself, William was going to make sure that he was up and at 'em first thing. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad though. From the sounds of it he was going to end up gaining new skills, and it would be interesting to see just what he and Will would be able to do together.

Now that he was thinking about it, if Will needed him in order to use his abilities...

"I do not."

Blinking himself out of his thoughts Jeremy tosses a look over to the one beside him.

"What?"

"I do not need you to use my abilities." William said, taking another sip of his drink. "I am perfectly capable of being able to do everything that I was doing beforehand without you."

"Oh." Jeremy couldn't help but be confused by this news. He's thought that with him being Will's host that Will wouldn't be able to use any of his abilities anymore without his... energy. "So...how does this work then?"

"You are an energy boost." Will said bluntly. "Nothing more, nothing less. You make me stronger. That is it."

Hm, well, he supposed he could live with that. In a way he was kinda like a badass energy drink. That sounded pretty cool.

With scoffed again, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips that he quickly tried to hide behind the rim of his mug.

"Not quite, but if that is the way you would like to look at it then fine."

A large grin overcame Jeremy's features, happy that he'd made the other smile when he was feeling down.

"You know we should try doing something today." Jeremy said suddenly, Will casting a look over at him for the suggestion. "You know, like practice a little? I know that we can't do much since... well I'll die apparently, but you know, we can try little things."

Will eyed him, his gaze narrowed before he turned his face forward.

"I am not sure how you would fair."

"Okay," Jeremy said, nonchalantly as he leaned back on his hands. "I supposed we could always just talk about Rich and Micheal instead."

No sooner had the words passed his lips had Will shot up, already moving around the house to head towards the backyard.

"Hurry up Jeremy."

(***)

Jeremy should have known better then to suggest this as a distraction for Will.

He was getting his ass kicked.

"That is not honestly the best you can do is it?"

The smirk over his face made Jeremy want to hit him, but he could barely raise his hands up to his waist. His legs were shaking, his chest heaving in heavy pants as he fought to keep himself from falling right over.

"You can do it Jeremy!" Christine cheered from where she was practising partner stretches with Jake.

"You've got this!" Jake said, his voice tittering off into laughter.

No doubt he knew that Jeremy was fucked, the asshole.

"Will, we've been practising none stop for hours." Jeremy groan, allowing himself to drop to his knees.

"It has barely been forty five minutes Jeremy."

Holy shit! Really!? Oh god, he wasn't going to survive real training with this guy!

"I'm dead." Jeremy mumbled, falling to the ground and laying in the dirt. "I'm dead. I'm done. I can't go on."

Jake and Christine laughed at his antics, Will giving a roll of his eyes as he walked over to him.

"Come on. This was your idea." Jeremy just groaned when he was nudged with the tip of the others boot. "Honestly, we are going to have to work a lot more on your stamina then I first originally thought."

"I'm your battery right? You're draining me." Jeremy whined.

Will sighed, dropping down next to Jeremy and jabbing his finger into the boy's cheek.

"I can feel your energy, you still have at least fifty six percent left."

"To last me the rest of the day!? It's barely ten o'clock!"

"Precisely my point." Will muttered, narrowing his gaze when Jeremy shifted his head to look up at him. "Just how on earth are you supposed to be of any use to me if you are already wiped out now?"

"Ugh."

Unable to come up with an appropriate response, Jeremy dropped his head down once more.

Why on earth had he been trying to make this asshole feel better again? And was making him feel better always going to lead to Jeremy feeling like he was about to puke out all of the contents of his stomach? God, he really had to stop trying to help people. It always came back to bite him on the ass in the worst way possible.

When Will didn't make any further move to get him off the ground Jeremy felt a swell of guilt fill his gut.

Right. Will could read his thoughts. Man, he really had to stop forgetting about that part of the deal.

With a sigh, and more effort then he would care to admit, he placed his hands underneath him and pushed himself back up until he was on his knees.

"Okay, so what do you want to teach me next?"

"I think we should really work on separating our minds a little bit more."

Jeremy blinked, he hadn't been expecting that as an answer. "We can do that?"

"Of course we can." Will said, tilting his head to the side as his brows drew together. "How do you think that Jacob and Richard have been able to avoid hearing your friends thoughts?"

"Wait, what?"

That snapped him back, his slowly sapping energy coming back to him ten fold as his limbs went stiff. It was only then that Will seemed to notice that he let something slip, his lips pressing into a thin line as his gaze shifted over to where Jake and Christine were trying out a new move. Jeremy followed his gaze, his mind still spinning with the new information as he watched the two.

Jake and Rich had made Christine and Micheal their hosts as well? Just when the hell had that happened? And how did none of them know that? He was sure that it must have happened awhile ago, maybe even years ago, and Christine and Micheal definitely would have told him if something that big had happened, and Micheal wouldn't have freaked out so much about finding out about what Rich was if he'd known so...

Why would they do that though? Why would they put his friends in that kind of danger without letting them know? Was that the reason that Rich had insisted that Micheal start exercising with him? Was that why Jake had started to get Christine into more active activities like dance and pilates? Were they leeching energy off of them without telling them? Had they been reading their thoughts and minds without their knowledge? Who did that?

"Jeremy."

His concentration was broken by the voice next to his side, his gaze snapping over to Will as a surprisingly gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.

"They did not connect with your friends for the same reason I connected with you. Your friends are in no danger. Obviously their attachment was not done out of need but want."

"Which means what to me?" He didn't mean to snap, he didn't mean to sound so angry, but it just felt so wrong. To do that to someone, something that would change their lives completely, without their permission or their knowledge just seemed... almost like a betrayal of their trust.

"It means that if at any time your friends decided that they no longer had an interest in being involved with either Richard or Jacob, they would eventually die without either Christine or Micheal being any the wiser that they had something to do with it."

"Then why would they do it in the first place? To be closer? How on earth does that make you closer to someone if they don't know that you have that connection?"

"They can feel it Jeremy." Will muttered, rubbing at his temples as if this should have been the most basic thing in the world. "It is still a connection, whether they know about it or not is irrelevant."

"So they basically forced my friends to like them without them even knowing about it?" Every word from his mouth was just making Jeremy more and more livid. None of what Will was saying was making it any better. It was emotional and mental manipulation!

"Do you like me?" Will finally snapped, his patience seemingly at an end as he growled lowly at the other.

The sudden change in attitude and topic threw Jeremy for a bit of a loop, but he was quick to get back on track as he snorted at the very thought.

"No."

"You have your answer then." Will sneered, his lips pulled back into a snarl, showcasing his sharp as hell teeth. "A connection can not fabricate feelings, but it can strengthen the ones that are there."

Jeremy sat back, his eyes moving back over to his friends as he watched them more closely.

Christine was laughing, holding Jake up in an airplane position while he tried his best to stay up without falling off due to his own bouts of laughter. They both looked so happy together, so content to be in each others presence with no need to act as anything other then what and who they were. They were happy together, and as far back as he could remember, they had always been happy to be together.

Thinking back to just a few days ago, he couldn't help but recall what Rich had said to him.

He'd said he'd die if Micheal ever left him. Jeremy had thought that he was just being dramatic, that it had been the booze talking, but it was startling to realize just how literal he was really being. Rich had gotten to the point where he loved Micheal so much, he was willing to place what was essentially his life force into the others hands without him even being aware of it.

Jeremy didn't think he could ever trust someone that much.

Letting out a large sigh he sunk back, resting all of his weight on his hands as he continued to watch the others. Will eased up next to his side, content that Jeremy wasn't about to run up and start shouting at Jake, or hunt down Rich.

"They're going to have to tell them eventually." He mumbled, yanking out the blades of grass that slipped between his fingers with a frown over his face.

"With me being here you can be sure that they will no doubt let them know by the end of the week."

"Good." Jeremy didn't mean to sound so pointed, and he winched at his own tone. These guys were still his friends after all, the least he could do was give them time to explain their side of the story. Taking in a deep breath he closed his eyes for a moment before turning his full attention back to Will. "Okay, so how do we do this thing?"


	9. Chapter 9

More Than Survive  
Chapter 9

Sitting back in class felt... strange. Almost like it was too, normal, too patterned to belong to the jumbled mess that had become Jeremy’s life.

He couldn’t stop tapping his pencil against the desk, or his notebook, or tossing glances outside to see if anything had changed. More than once it had crossed his mind about what his friends were doing, about what Will was up to, but the more he thought about it, the worse his fidgeting became. So he tried not to think of anything.

As he looked out over the football field he tried not thinking about the run in that they had, had with that lady. When his eyes gazed over the bleachers he tried not to remember the first time he saw Will. When he would glance over at the place that him and Micheal had managed to slip through to hide, he tried to push away the thoughts of fear and pain that had pulsed through his body like a second heartbeat.

He was fine now. Micheal was fine, Christine was taking everything in stride, Jake and Rich were acting as if nothing had changed, and Will had assured him that the lady was a once in a lifetime thing.

But why couldn’t he just settle his thoughts?

There was so much more that he wanted to know about squips. How many of them were there? Where did they all go? For just what purpose had they all been made? Why were they all out and about in the world now? Why weren’t they all friendly with one another? Why didn’t they keep in touch if they could do so many cool things with technology? Why did their ages vary so much? If there were more out there, were they all as friendly as Jake and Rich? Will apparently didn’t think very highly of humans, were the rest of them going to be like that? If they were, how much of a threat would that pose to normal humans? Were there enough squips to cause some type of uprising?

Holy shit! Was this the beginning of Terminator!?

“Mr. Heree.”

Jeremy jumped, his pencil flying from his hand and hitting the student in front of him on the head.

Wincing at the glare that was shot at him from both the stranger and his teacher, he sunk lowly into his chair as he slowly lowered his gaze to her.

“Yes Professes Sawyer?”

“If you insist on ignoring my lecture and fooling around, then please exit so that the rest of my students may concentrate without distractions.”

Her voice was sharp, final, and sent a chill down his spine as he folded his hands upon his notebook.  
“I’m sorry.” The words were mumbled and quiet, but she seemed to understand him fine enough as she snapped around to face the board again.

“Now, as I was saying...”

Letting out a long sigh Jeremy found his gaze returning to the world outside, unable to help but wonder just how meaningless this all was when there were such bigger things happening that no one had the slightest idea of.

(***)

They had gotten better as the week went by. On Monday, Jeremy had once again been rudely awakened from his bed being flipped over him once more. The same thing happened on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by Thursday he managed to snap up the moment Will took a step towards his bed.

Jeremy had been right about the training however, and even though they’d only done three days, four if he wanted to count the Saturday that he’d forced that improvised lesson, his body was sore everywhere. He was sore in places that he didn’t even know he could be sore in. Even his eyeballs hurt to some extent somehow.

He’d also managed to block out most of his thoughts from Will, when he was trying anyways. It took a lot of concentration from both of them and half the time they could only really manage it for two to three hours at a time. But Will said it would take some time and that soon enough they would be able to do it without even having to think about it.

Will also had him on a ridiculous busy schedule, and the time that he didn’t spend exercising, he was either working with Will on their connection or being forced to do his homework. He was pretty sure that he’d even finished assignments that weren’t due for another two months.

As much as he wanted to say that Will was just taking an interest in making sure that Jeremy was at the top of his game, he had a feeling that it also might have had to due with the fact that Rich and Micheal had been even more openly affectionate as of late. It seemed to be that whenever the two were hanging off of each other, Will suddenly had a new technique that he wanted to try or swore that there was some project of Jeremy’s that they should be working on.

While Jeremy didn’t mind it too much, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up at the same pace for long. Hell, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep it up for another week. He was already running himself into the ground as it was, he was only human after all, and to go from a guy who did pretty much nothing other than attending class, to a guy who was suddenly active for hours a day and pulling overtime in all of his classes, he was pretty much at the end of his rope.

Honestly if he hadn’t known that Will was some type of superhuman, he would have thought that the guy was a demon or possessed or something.

Sitting at his desk now he wasn’t really doing any studying, just staring blankly at his text book that was propped up in front of him while his pen created a huge blotch on the clean page. He was too tired to sleep, but he couldn’t find it in himself to get up and do anything else either. Will was laying on his bed, reading over a book about... actually Jeremy wasn’t sure what he was reading, he’d barely caught a glimpse at the cover before he sat down, but he was reading some type of book. Jeremy couldn’t help but fear that if he made any move to get up, then Will would know that he hadn’t been studying and would drag him out for some more godawful training. His arms screamed at him whenever he moved them to just jot down a line, he couldn’t do anymore push ups.

“Jeremy.”

He was too tired to form any type of sentence, so he just let out a tired grunt to show that he’d heard.

“I don’t hear that pen moving at all.”

God-fucking-damnit.

Giving up on life for now Jeremy allowed his head to drop to the top of the desk with a loud thud, his brain running through different topics that would hopefully distract the other from whatever he was going to put him through next.

“Jake and Rich still haven’t said anything.”

It was weak, and maybe a little bit of a low shot, but it made the shifting behind him come to a stop.

“No,” Will mumbled, his voice sounding more distant than Jeremy would have thought. “I suppose you are right about that.”

“You said they would probably tell them by the end of the week.” Jeremy reminded him, although with the way that Will’s brain worked he highly doubted that the guy needed reminders.

“It may come as a surprise to you Jeremy, but I do not know for certain everything that is bound to happen.”

“Shocking.”

Will gave a small hiss at his sass, a small shock travelling through Jeremy’s body in revenge. He could barely give an audible groan to voice his discomfort, the shock not being enough to cause any real harm. For a moment he debated screaming inwardly, but quickly thought against it.

“Don’t push them Jeremy. They will let the others know when they are ready.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” Jeremy grumbled, turning his head to glare at the other. “It’s not your friends they’ve been lying to.”

“You seem to forget that Richard and Jacob are your friends as well.” The pointed look Will gave him was enough to make Jeremy feel a swell of guilt sink in his stomach.

Will had a point. He might not have been as close to either Rich or Jake but they were still his friends, and he would still look out for them and make sure that they were okay if anything were to happen.

With a long sigh he dropped his head on the desk, his eyes fluttering shut for just a moment before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You are not seriously tired now are you? The day is barely over.”

“Well sorry but some of us aren’t sitting around at home all day while the others are all at school.” Jeremy sneered, finding just enough energy in himself to get at least that much out.

William fell silent, the sudden lack of a conceded voice strangely unsettling. Prying his eyes open to see just what had happened to the normally vocal male, he arched a brow at the sight of Will grinning down at him. The gleaming pointed teeth were a little too close for comfort, and Jeremy found himself slowly shifting away as he eyed the other suspiciously.

“What?”

“Is that honestly what you think I do all day? Just sit around here like a dog waiting for you to come back?”

Well, yea. He honestly did. There wasn’t much else that he could imagine Will doing. The guy had only been here for a week, Jeremy knew just how hard the hiring process was, there was no way that he would have been able to find one so quickly, and it’s not like there was much else around this area for anyone to do so, in his mind, it just made sense that Will would stay at home cleaning or cooking or watching TV. After all, the house had been a lot cleaner ever since they’d taken him in, and on the days that they all had school Will would make them lunches and dinners. Apparently he was rather ‘appalled’ to see just what kind of food they’d all been surviving off of for the last year and a bit.

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t help but wonder just where it was that Will got the money for all of that stuff too. Not only did he have no idea just what it was that Will did all day with his time, but he’d never once heard Will ask for money from anyone and yet things they didn’t own kept showing up. Like new toothbrushes and spaghetti squash.

Pushing himself back into a seated position, he gave a slight tilt of his head, his eyes glancing around the room to see if he could find any type of uniform or any other evidence that Will might have had some sort of job, but he didn’t find anything. In fact, although Will brought different items for each of them, he didn’t seem to get much for himself. Staring at him now he wondered just how long Will had owned that one outfit.

“You should change.”

Will jerked back as Jeremy stood, heaving out an even bigger sigh as he dragged himself over to his closet.

Jesus, why had none of them noticed this? He could remember just last week asking Will about it, about if he’d had any other clothing or had a place he’d been staying in that he might need to pick up a few things from, but Will had quickly switched the topic and left the area. Jeremy would have had to be some kind of idiot to not understand what that meant. Sure, Will took showers and whatnot, but had no one thought that maybe it wasn’t good for him to be wearing the same thing over and over again? Man that outfit had to be so dirty. Why didn’t it smell? Was that just some sort of squip thing or something?

His thoughts continued to ramble on and on as he rummaged through his closet for something he figured would fit the guy and would suit his sense of style, or lack therefor of. Not that Jeremy could really be the one to talk. Almost everything he owned was either gamer, geek, or striped.

With a small hum he grabbed out one of his only plain black t-shirts, snatching a black sweater with white and black stripped sleeves off of the hanger, and a pair of plain, dark coloured jeans.

Yea, Will didn’t seem like a guy who would be interested in wearing a ton of colour, the plainer it was no doubt the better it would be for him.

“Here.” As he turned around he held out the clothes, barely able to keep his eyes open as Will stared down at them. “These should fit you, although the pants might be a little long.”

Will didn’t take them right away. He just continued to stare down at the small assortment of items as if they would suddenly jump out and bite him if he so much as twitched. After a few more seconds passed, as Jeremy’s arm felt heavier and heavier the longer he waited, Will finally snatched them up.

“I will take the clothes because you are so insistent,” Jeremy didn’t want to point out the fact that he hadn’t really insisted much at all, “but I do not need to be looked after like a child.”

“Neither do I.” Jeremy muttered, moving himself over to his bed and flopping down on it. Maybe with Will changing he could take a few minutes to steal some sleep. “But we’re partners right? We need to look out for each other.”

For once in his life Will didn’t seem to have any response for that. Smiling in triumph over his small victory, Jeremy cuddled up with his blankets and rolled over to face his wall. He didn’t hear the other leave, but he could hear the shifting of fabric and he knew that Will just decided to change here rather than walking all the way to the bathroom to do so. After a few minutes the sound stopped, and he could hear Will giving out a small hum.

“You were right about the pants, the sleeves are a little long as well, but they should do.”

Tossing a look over his shoulder Jeremy couldn’t help the faint smile that came to his lips at the sight of the other. “Cute.” He muttered out groggily, the comment accompanied with a slight chuckle. His laughter only grew more at the light blush and dark glare he received in return. “Why haven’t you ever bought any new clothes for yourself?”

Apparently Will had money, so just why didn’t he use it to buy at least one other outfit?

Will only shrugged, rolling up the cuffs of the pants before he moved onto the shirt.

“I never saw the point in it.”

This time it was Jeremy who made a small noise, wondering just how long Will would allow him to lay down for before kicking him out of the bed and dragging him on to the next task.

“You should ask Christine and Jake to take you shopping. They’d be able to find you some really great stuff for really good prices. If you want to blend in, you’re going to have to make sure that you don’t stick out. People will notice if you wear the same thing over and over.”

“They never did before.” Will said, his eyes glancing over to the pile of his worn and discarded clothes.

“Did you ever stay in one place?” Jeremy questioned, his brows raising even as his eyes closed.

The silence that greeted him was enough of an answer.

“You know Will it won’t kill you to chill out and relax.”

Had he not been two seconds away from drifting off to sleep, he might have questioned the soft, ‘if only’ that slipped passed the others lips, but he was too happy to really care. Will was finally in a new outfit, they were somewhat having a civil conversation, and Will wasn’t yanking him out of bed.

All in all he was going to count this day as a win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta for fixing all of the grammar mistakes for me! :D   
> Hope you guys all enjoyed it! :D


	10. Chapter 10

This was, surprisingly nice.

It was Sunday, and shockingly, Will had allowed him to sleep in, and held off any type of physical or mental activity that Jeremy thought he might have planned. Will even said he’d be out most of the morning, which meant that there was no way he was going to be lecturing Jeremy the whole time he was relaxing. So for the first time in what felt like forever, god had it really only been a week? Jeremy had slept in until nine, dragging himself out of bed and enjoying a nice bowl of sugary, teeth rotting cereal. After that he spent the following hours doing absolutely nothing. He didn’t even bother to change.

After days of constantly being on the go, it was a relief to finally just sit back and relax, lounging on the couch in his PJs and staring blankly at the TV while he happily zoned out. It wasn’t until around one that Christine finally dragged him to the table and forced him to work on a giant seven thousand piece puzzle with her. He hadn’t even known that they could be made with that many pieces. They’d been working on it for about an hour, barely making a dent, before Will came back in, looking dead on his feet for a split moment before he noticed them and snapped back to his snarky self.

Jake had even managed to rope Will into a game of battle ship, both of them playing from the couch since the ‘kitchen table’ was in use. When Micheal and Rich came back from the gym Will barely seemed to notice for once, too wrapped up in his game to spar the couple a look.

Stealing glances over at the other table Jeremy couldn’t help the small smile from pulling at his lips as Micheal stood behind Will, signaling Jake just where the others pieces were. Will was taking the game very seriously, his brows so low over his eyes that they nearly squashed his orbs. The more places that Jake hit on his ship the more Will missed Jake’s on his own turn, the more and more frustrated he became.

It was actually rather amusing to watch, for once seeing Will not dominating something, even if it was mostly because Micheal and Jake were cheating.

“Jeremy I need that piece.”

Snapping his attention back to the table just as Rich snatched the item he was looking for from between Jeremy’s fingers, he quickly turned to what he was supposed to be doing.

“Keep your mind focused tallass.” Rich said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips, his eyes telling Jeremy that he knew something that might have been going over Jeremy’s own head. “Your boyfriend’s fine.”

Jeremy’s face scrunched up, giving a shake of his head as his fingers started tapping against the table.

“We’re not dating Rich, and you better hope Will never hears you say that. He’d probably kill you.” Or be incredibly upset. Jeremy was starting to think that William might have had a bit of a thing for Rich. There were only so many reasons he could think of for why Will was so sensitive to Micheal and Rich’s relationship.

Taking a look back at the table he tried to concentrate on the puzzle before him and not the sudden clench in his stomach at the thought of just what Will felt towards Rich. It’s not like he cared anyways, they barely knew each other. Although they had been spending a lot of time together, but that was only because they had to train so much in order to get used to this host thing, it’s not like Will actually wanted to hangout with him, not like he did with Jake and Rich who Jeremy had caught countless times making him laugh or smile. Nope. He didn’t care. If it wasn’t for that night they wouldn’t have even known about each other, so...

Why was he trying to defend himself against this? In his own head no less?

“You know I think we should all do something together.” Christine said, connecting one section to the other and sharing a high five with Rich. “You know, to celebrate our first week of school going by so smoothly.”

‘Going by smoothly’ wasn’t how Jeremy would have described the first week.

“That could be fun.” Rich agreed, snatching another piece that Jeremy had just grabbed. “But nothing to do with drinking, it seriously messes us up.”

Arching a brow at that, Jeremy dropped his chin in his hand as he tapped his new piece against the table.

“What do you mean?” He mumbled, part of his words muffled by the hand over his mouth.

Rich’s movements stilled, as if he just realized what he’d said. Suddenly he started to squirm in his seat, as if he’d been asked an uncomfortable question and wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.

“Um, well, you know, it’s a, um, it’s a squip thing.”

Christine perked up then, her lips forming a soft ‘o’ as her eyes lit up. “Right! Jake told me about that!” She chirped, her smile wide as she reached over and gently patted Rich’s hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll go out and have good, clean, nonalcoholic fun!”

The corner of Rich’s mouth twitched up slightly to form a brief smile. Jeremy on the other hand couldn’t help himself from eyeing the other skeptically. He’d seen Jake and Rich drink tons of times, and they never seemed... oh wait. There had been that one time at that party where they’d gotten really weird. He’d thought that them turning blue was just a strange side effect and that they’d been speaking Japanese phrases that they’d heard in a movie somewhere but what if it was just that the alcohol made them lose the control that they needed to stay normal? Had Will or Jake not mentioned that they’d been made in Japan? It would make sense for that to be their first language then and to default to it when they weren't lucid enough to remember to speak English. And the colouring of their skin could have been from them slipping in the control of altering their appearances.

Wow, with how often they’d dragged them out to drink Jeremy was honestly surprised that they’d only slipped the one time.

Glancing back over at Will, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was ever a time where he’d slipped up like that too. Actually, just what was it that Will had been up to before they’d taken him in? Jeremy had no idea what he’d even want to do for fun if they were all to go out, and he kinda wanted to know. How could it be that they were supposed to be partners, but that they didn’t know a single personal thing about each other? Or, at least Jeremy didn’t, Will did have access to most of his thoughts a lot of the time, he probably knew tons of things that Jeremy didn’t want him to. Oh dear god, he probably even knew about his thing for tails...

“What did you have in mind?” His question was too abrupt, the heat on his face too bright to just play it off as he quickly snapped himself back towards his two other friends and rudely interrupted their conversation.

Christine and Rich shared a look with one another, as if they too were capable of telepathic communication, before they turned back to Jeremy.

“As I was just saying to Rich,” Christine said, smiling softly and not looking the least bit annoyed over the fact that not only had Jeremy not been listening, but he’d also interrupted her conversation, “Some of the girls from my Music Theory course asked me to tag along to this limited time Fringe exhibit at the science museum. I was thinking that it could be fun for all of us to go together.”

Well, it didn’t sound like a bad idea, and it might have even been pretty cool.

“Well, I’m game. Sounds like fun.” Jeremy said, this time lifting his hand out of Rich’s reach when he went to snatch his piece yet again.

“Great!” Christine lit up, her hands coming together in a sharp clap as she got to her feet.

Her actions drew the attention of the three others behind the couch, their gazes being pulled from their game to stare at her.

“What do you guys think about heading out to a Fringe exhibit at the science museum? It starts at six so if we all get ready now we can have a quick bite to eat before we head out.”

“Sounds like fun Chrisy.” Jake said, a fond smile on his face as he stared up at his girlfriend.

“I love Fringe science! They always have the best, most outlandish ideas!” Micheal grinned, his sudden exclamation causing Will to jump, his head snapping around just as he realized he’d been there the whole time.

With everyone else on board, everybody turned to Will, waiting to see what his answer would be. It took Will a moment to realize, his attention more on Micheal and the board and slowly coming to a realization than it was anywhere else.

Will.

At Jeremy’s telepathic call he snapped his gaze over to the boy, the intensity of those blue eyes making his stomach swoop for a brief moment.

Your friend was helping Jacob cheat.

Jeremy snickered at the sourness in his voice, giving a shake of his head along with a roll of his eyes. “You coming with us?” He asked, arching a brow at the sudden scowl that overcame the other’s features.

“I think I have far more interesting things to do than observe humans’ pathetic attempts on concepts they can’t even begin to grasp.”

While everyone else shifted awkwardly at the comment, their shoulders dropping in disappointment, Jeremy only gave a shrug of his shoulders.

“Yea, I guess it might go over your head anyways.”

William gave an incoherent squawk at that, Jeremy hiding his smirk at the dark blush over the other’s face as he turned his attention back to a slack-jawed Christine. 

“Should the rest of us get ready then?”

“I will have you know that I have done countless hours of research on different ‘Fringe’ projects that you humans have come up with and have yet to be impressed by any of them!” Will hissed, the rage burning in his gaze practically filling the room.

“Well maybe it’s only because you don’t understand any of it.” Jeremy said as he got up from his seat while Rich dropped his head into his crossed arms, his shoulders shaking in barely contained laughter. When he turned back to face the others he couldn’t help but feel even more victorious at the wide grin over Micheal’s face, the way Jake was sucking his lips in to hide his own smile, and the absolutely murderous glare he was receiving from Will. “You know, unless you’d rather join us and point out just what is wrong with it all, then I might believe you.”

The whole room became tense as the two entered into a strange sort of staring contest. Jeremy refused to cave in, or show the nervousness that was starting to stir in his stomach. After a moment, Will finally snapped, crossing his arms over his chest with an aggravated huff.

“Just point out anything in that pathetic attempt of an exhibit and I will debunk it for you within seconds.” He hissed, before turning to everyone else. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go and get ready. I’ll throw something in the oven and then we’ll leave.” He growled, everyone snapping into action to avoid any of his wrath.

Jeremy on the other hand snickered, unable to help the smile on his lips as Will came around the couch to move into the kitchen, jabbing his finger hard enough in Jeremy’s chest to make him wary of a forming bruise for later.

“I will have you know that I know what you just did.” He snarled, although it didn’t seem nearly as threatening as it had a week ago.

Jeremy only threw on a mock look of innocence as he pushed in his chair. “I’m sure that I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Will hissed, pulling back and turning on his heels to walk over to the fridge. Jeremy dropped the act, grinning like an idiot as the other grumbled lowly to himself while he ripped out different ingredients that he would need from the cold shelves of the fridge. Deciding he wasn’t about to push his luck he left the kitchen, heading over to his room to go and get ready for the night.

So, maybe they didn’t know much about each other, but at least Jeremy knew enough about Will to manipulate him into joining them all for group activities. The rest they could work on later.


	11. Chapter 11

"I am deeply regretting my decision already."

For the most part, everyone just ignored Will's comment, Jeremy and Christine chuckled at his words while Rich threw an arm around his shoulders.

"We haven't even gotten into the building yet." As Rich snickered Jeremy kept a close eye on Will, any of his amusement from earlier fading to the background as he waited to see what would happen. "Just give it a chance man."

There was no colour added to Will's cheeks, no flustered look came across his face at Rich's close proximity. There was nothing to suggest any type of uncomfortable connection or one sided feelings from the two at all. Will simply gave a small roll of his eyes and pulled away.

"That is exactly my point. Just look at all of the people out here." Will muttered, waving his hand out before the group and to the flood of people that were all walking with haste to enter the warmer building and escape from the chill of the night air. "I can only imagine that inside must be absolutely crowded. It is going to be packed with people pushing and shoving and getting into my personal space."

Now that he mentioned it...

Jeremy glanced over at Micheal, feeling slightly relieved when Rich caught on to just what crowds of people meant as he quickly fell back and wrapped his fingers around his boyfriend's hand. When Micheal glanced down at him and gave him a small smile, Jeremy could feel his own anxieties ebbing away.

He knew that he himself wasn't very good with crowds, but he could manage. Micheal on the other hand couldn't be on his own for very long in a large group of people, at least not unless he had someone he could trust to be his rock there for him, and Rich had done an amazing job being just that over the years that they had known each other.

Switching his glance back over to Will, Jeremy gave an arch of his brow upon seeing the tight lipped frown that had settled over the other's face.

Okay, just what was Will's deal? Did he like Rich or not? Or was he just like a little kid in a sandbox who didn't want to share his toys?

"This is going to be so much fun!" Christine cheered, clinging to Jake's arm in her excitement, a bright smile lighting up her whole face. "I can't wait to see Jenna, Chloe, and Brooke! They're gonna be so thrilled to finally meet you all!"

"To finally meet us?"

"Jenna?"

No one seemed to hear Will mutter the name under Micheal's question, but it caught Jeremy's attention as he discreetly peered at the other from the corner of his eyes.

Did Will know someone named Jenna? Was that the name of someone like him? The name of another Squip? Why didn't Rich and Jake seemed to react to it the same way? Was it the name of someone else he'd pissed off? If they met was she going to hunt Will down with lighting? Oh shit! Was he going to have to fight with Will!?

"Yea, I talk about you guys all the time to them." Christine explained, her smile never once wavering as she spoke. "It's a shame that we couldn't have all gotten together sooner. I'm sure that you guys will all get along great! But you know, as they say, better late then never!"

"Well I can't wait to meet your friends." Jake grinned, patting her lightly on the arm. "I'm sure if you like them, they're great people."

"Hey Christine, um, would you be mad if I had to leave early?" Micheal asked, his hand already resting over his stomach and his face pinched in a queasy expression. "I mean, I won't leave right away, that would be kind of rude, but maybe in like, an hour or so?"

Rich cuddled up to his side, the action causing Micheal to settle somewhat as Christine stopped walking to be able to give him her full attention. With her stopped, the rest of the group came to a halt, Micheal stared down at her somewhat sheepishly as she smiled back up at him.

"Micheal, you can go whenever you feel like it okay? I'm just glad that you came at all." She admitted, walking up to him and giving him a big hug, Rich moved away just enough for her to do so. "If you want you can go right now, don't feel obligated to stay if you're uncomfortable."

Micheal let out a large breath, his shoulders slumping as he relaxed, hugging her back before he wrapped his arm around Rich's waist.

"Thanks Chrisy. I want to stay, I'll stay as long as I can."

Christine smiled at him, reaching out and giving his free hand a tight squeeze. With that she turned back to Jake, Micheal shared a small smile with Rich, and then the group was on their way again.

Jeremy waited, allowing himself to fall behind and next to Will who had settled in the back at some point. If he was being honest, there was always a small part of him that hated group hangouts. It always seemed to highlight the fact that he was the fifth wheel in their group, and had been for years. Having someone else around who he could chat to without feeling as if he was interrupting some type of moment was nice, even if he was just walking beside them. It made him feel just a little less, alone.

"Your friend will be fine."

Will's words seemed to come out of nowhere, startling Jeremy out of his thoughts as he gave a small jump. Glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes he pursed his lips together, his brows drawing up to meet as he stayed silent. Will didn't know Micheal like Jeremy did, how on earth did he know just what he could handle and what he couldn't? He hadn't been there to see some of Micheal's worst moments and attacks and what had caused them.

"He's not as frail as you seem to be making him out to be." Will continued, "He was willing to step in and save a stranger at the expense of his own life, he will be fine here."

"You don't know him like I do." Jeremy put in with a shake of his head. "Micheal is able to push any fear he has to the back if someone needs him, but he can't do the same if it's just himself. He's not reacting anymore, he just starts overthinking and then he puts himself into a state."

"Richard is with him." Will pointed out, nodding his head to the two in front of them. "He will make sure that Micheal's chemical unbalances are stable."

"Wait, what?" Jeremy came to a halt at that, reaching out and grabbing a hold of Will's arm before he could think of it.

With them being in the back, no one in their group noticed the two weren't following after them anymore, chatting on happily about what they were the most excited to see while Will ripped his arm away from the tight hold Jeremy had.

"You guys are capable of changing chemical balances in the human body?" What the hell? Why would they need to do that? "What the fuck were you guys made for?"

Will's gaze narrowed sharply, his whole stance seeming to tense as he squared his shoulders, making himself seem bigger.

"That a good question Jeremiah." Hearing his full name sounded strange coming from the other's lips, making Jeremy's lips twitch as his ears felt a strange tingling sensation. "I am sure if they had not cancelled the program and tried to exterminate us all we would know just what it was that they were hoping we would be able to do."

Exterminate? Could it have been that was what Rich had been talking about when he said that he'd hoped that Will would be okay? Had Will made a distraction in order to help his friends get away to safety? Had that woman been hunting him down because they were trying to find the rest of them? Were Rich and Jake going to be okay then?

"You guys are dangerous." There really was no other way that he could sugar coat it. They could hook themselves up to other people, they could read their thoughts and control their feelings to a point. They could use technology in ways that Jeremy couldn't even comprehend and shoot lighting from their fingertips. They were superhumans living among the average humans, and that was a terrifying thought. They could have been controlling world leaders, they could eventually take over the world, get the program that had created them back up and running and wiped the rest of them out.

While it wasn't the first time that these thoughts had run through Jeremy's head, he was starting to realize just how much of a real possibility it was, and the idea of it was enough to make him feel sick.

"We are humans." Will snapped back, a small shock running through Jeremy's body as his anger slipped. "And we did not asked to be made into monsters."

Okay. He had a point there.

Feeling guilty for his outburst Jeremy backed off. Will settled slightly, seeing that he wasn't going to continue the argument and let out a long sigh.

"Look Jeremy," lifting his gaze to stare at the other once more, Jeremy waited to see what he wanted to say. "We have been over this, I understand your concern for your friends, but as I have told you before, Richard and Jacob would never do anything to hurt them. If you can not help yourself from overreacting every time I tell you something new about us, I will refrain from mentioning anything."

"That's not what I want." Jeremy said quickly, his voice coming out a little sharper than he intended. "Sorry," he muttered before pressing forward. "I just... you know it's a lot to take in, and every time you tell me something, it's always about people that I thought I knew really well and it's a little..."

"Delusional?" Will supplied.

"Yea." Jeremy's lips twitched over to the side, his brows narrowing just the slightest as Will finished his sentence. "I've known these guys for years, and then you came along and suddenly it's like I don't actually know them at all."

"I...apologize for the blunt way in which I deliver you information." Will admitted, "It is...new, to have someone to talk to about these topics of which they are not already aware of."

Jeremy didn't say anything, his gaze fixed strictly on a point just over Will's left shoulder.

Really, he couldn't be that mad at Will. It didn't seem like he had many social interactions and knowing what to say and when seemed to completely escape him. Besides, he should have been happy that Will was at least apologizing. He had a feeling it wasn't something that the guy did often.

Taking in a deep breath he decided to let it go. Rich didn't seem to be doing anything that would make Micheal uncomfortable, and it appeared like he was helping so there really was no reason for him to get so defensive over the whole thing. Well, other than the fact that if he ever caught Will doing the same thing to him he would freak but so far all seemed to be normal.

"Hey! Will! Jeremy!"

It was only at the call of their names that either of them remembered that they were here with the others, and that they had fallen behind by a large margin. Snapping his head over he gave an awkward wave back to Rich who'd been the one to yell, drawing unwanted attention from other passersby in the process.

"Come on you two love birds! We've all got to get in together!"

"We're not...!" Jeremy didn't get to finish his sentence, Rich turned his back on them and entered into a conversation with Micheal. Scowling at the other's back he shoved his hands into his pockets and grumbled lowly to himself as he marched towards the others.

Will was surprisingly quiet, disgust crossing over his face for only a moment before his attention shifted from Rich to Micheal, his eyes holding an unnervingly calculated look while the rest of his features were rested casually with only the slightest tension visible in the corners of his lips. Jeremy found his own gaze narrowing at that, trying to come up with any reason that them just standing there and talking to each other would irk the other.

Actually now that he was thinking about it, Will didn't have a problem with Jake and Christine's relationship, and he didn't seem to have a romantic interest in Rich, so just what was his deal with the two? What was so different about them?

"Are you a homophobe?"

Without stopping his stride, Will's head snapped around to face Jeremy, his face pinched as if he'd just eaten something sour.

"What?"

"Well, it's just, you seem like really good friends with Rich, but you don't like him and Micheal together but you're fine with Christine and Jake being together and you don't seem to have any interest in Rich in a boyfriend sort of way so I just thought..."

"God I am so glad that I do not have to constantly hear your thoughts anymore." Will mumbled, giving a hard roll of his eyes as he turned his attention back towards the front. "No. I do not care one way or another who decides to spend their time with whom, I have better things to do with my time than think about what others do with theirs behind closed doors."

Okay, well that didn't really solve the whole, 'what's the deal with Rich and Micheal and Will' thing.

"Then what is it that makes you so mad at them?"

"You are very chatty this evening." Will stated, his narrowed gaze shifting over to burn into Jeremy's face. "My personal feelings are none of your business."

Jeremy huffed, kicking at a few unsuspecting leaves as they drew closer and closer to the rest of their group. Man, just how far had they fallen behind?

"If it's going to cause friction between my friends then I think that it is my business. You can't tell, but Micheal is catching on to your reactions and it's making him uncomfortable. He shouldn't be uncomfortable being who he is Will, much less in his own home. So what's your deal?"

"I have no problems with your friends." Will lied, refusing to meet Jeremy's stare as he sped up his pace.

"That's bullshit and you know it." Jeremy snapped, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his wrist once more, yanking him to a sudden stop. "I've been letting it slide since you seemed so upset about it at first, but now you're just getting hostile every time they're so much as near each other. I want to give you your space, but it's only making it worse."

"Your friend is fine."

"You don't know Micheal like I do." Jeremy growled, his tone making a look of shock overcome the other's face. "He can be very good at hiding his true feelings from others until he just breaks down when he can't hold it in anymore. I'm not letting him get to that point."

Micheal was Jeremy's friend, his best friend, more like a brother than a friend at all really. Their bond was deeper than anything that Jeremy had ever had before, and he knew for sure that he would never find another person that he could connect with as well as Micheal. He was willing to do anything for him, and would do anything to make sure that he would be okay. He'd seen just how Will's attitude towards his friend was starting to get to him, he refused to let it lead to another attack for the poor guy.

Will tried to pull his arm away, but Jeremy only held tighter, leading him to be pulled closer to the other much to Will's displeasure.

"Let go Jeremy." He hissed, his lips pulling back in a snarl as he spoke.

"No. Whatever your beef with Micheal is, it needs to end. He's a really great guy and he doesn't deserve the cold shoulder that you give him every time he's in the same room with you."

"You just want to argue tonight." Will growled, "What was the point in dragging me along with you if all you wanted to do was snap at me the whole time?"

Jeremy let him go.

Will did have a point. He had been snapping at him a lot for the last little bit. It's not that he had even meant to it was just...

"Look, I'm sorry okay?" Letting out a hiss through his teeth Jeremy raised his hands to run through his hair, clicking his tongue for good measure as he tried to think of what to say next. "I don't want to put you on the spot, I just, I don't want this problem to get any worse. I mean, Micheal's my best friend, and I don't want anything bad to happen to him."

"Well that is what he has Richard for is it not?" Will scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"See that! That right there! Why do you have to do that?" Jeremy asked, exasperated as he dropped his hands down before him. "You make it seem like it's a bad thing that Micheal has Rich or that they like to be around each other and that they help one another out. Why?"

Will opened his mouth, but if he had anything to say it didn't make it to his lips. He froze, his eyes glossing over for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts before he gave a quick shake of his head. Jeremy's gaze only narrowed further. He would get to the bottom of this, no matter how long it was going to take, for Micheal's sake.

"I will... try to ease up on my behaviour around them." Will mumbled, his fingers tapping at his side as he chewed on the corner of his bottom lip. "I can assure you that it is something I do not even realize that I am doing but I will focus on it from now on."

He hadn't even realized that he was doing it? How could he have not? Oh well, one win at a time he supposed. With a sigh Jeremy gave a small shrug of his shoulders, continuing his walk towards his friends again as he did so.

"I guess that works for now, but you know, if something's bothering you, you shouldn't keep it bottled up all the time, you'll just end up exploding if you do."

"Forgive me for not wanting to be overly open with you when every time you get new information or question me on certain habits you snap." Will scoffed, following along beside him at a reasonable distance.

He did have a point there. Jeremy couldn't really blame him for that, honestly he'd done nothing but proven Will's point since he'd opened his mouth to question him on just about what Rich and Jake could do as Squips. Besides, this was already something that they'd been over not even ten minutes ago.

"How about this?" Jeremy questioned, placing his hand on Will's arm to gather his attention but not to stop him. "If I promise to not overreact as much, then you have to promise to be a little more open with me? Deal?"

Will's gaze narrowed and Jeremy could feel a slight pressure on the barrier he'd put up between their minds. He reached out and gave Will a gentle whack on the nose, frowning as Will jerked back and the pressure was suddenly gone.

"No mind snooping."

The male huffed, blowing a few strands of his dark hair out of his view as he continued to glare at Jeremy. After a long moment he gave a small hiss, forcing the air passed his teeth as he clicked his tongue and reached out with his hand.

"Fine."

He sounded reluctant, but if he was willing to agree then he couldn't have been all that much against the idea. With a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, Jeremy took a hold of the hand, giving it a firm shake but still unable to help himself from wincing at the strong grip that Will had. God sometimes he forgot how strong this guy was.

"Alright, great. I'm glad that we could come to an agreement."

Will rolled his eyes, yanking his hand back to his side and once again heading towards the front.

"Will! Jeremy! Let's go!"

With a long sigh of his own, Jeremy decided to listen to Rich before the guy thought of coming down the stairs and kicking the crap out of him


	12. Chapter 12

Maybe it was all in Jeremy's mind, but he could have sworn that Will was using his sweater as some type of comfort item. At first he hadn't noticed it, but... there really was no reason for him to be gripping the fabric so tightly or for him to bring the sleeve up to his mouth. He'd been watching Will for weeks, he sort of had to when his life force or whatever depended on the guy, and Will rarely ever had his hands anywhere near his face. Sure, maybe once in a while he would tap or grab at his chin, but that was about it. Never had Jeremy ever seen him press his fist to his lips or hold it there for longer than necessary. In fact, the only nervous tic that Will seemed to have that Jeremy picked up on was his fingers tapping at the side of his leg.

Over the years he'd become sensitive to other people's tics. Noticing the smallest changes in their demeanour and their actions had become something he was able to pick out within seconds thanks to the careful eye he kept on his own group, especially with Michael and Rich. Because of this, he was able to tell all too plainly that this wasn't normal Will behaviour, but he really couldn't think of anything that could be setting the guy off either.

As he took a quick glance around, his eyes easily picked out just what exhibits his friends were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over, his brows drew together when he didn't pick up on any type of threat. There was something putting Will on edge, he just had no idea what it was. They had been fine when they were outside the building, but what had changed once they were in it?

You okay?

Allowing his mental shield to drop in order to ask the question, Jeremy found a frown pulling at his lips at the small start Will gave.

Seeming to notice just what it was that had made him ask the question Will jerked his hand down, scowling over at the other as he did so.

"I am completely fine." Will scoffed, giving a roll of his eyes as he clasped his hands behind his back and marched ahead of Jeremy. "Now let us catch up with your friends. The sooner we can see these atrocious exhibits the sooner we can all leave."

Deciding not to press any further for tonight, after all, he had been bothering the guy a lot tonight, Jeremy quickly caught up to him and continued on without a word.

Will wouldn't even turn to face him as they caught up with the rest of the group, Christine pointed at something in utter fascination as Micheal filled her in on the original origins of the idea.

"Wow, you two," Rich grinned, his hands in his pockets as he turned to face them with a shit eating grin, "we haven't even been here for five minutes and we almost lost you."

"Yes, well, Jeremy is a slow walker."

Biting back on the comment that it was actually Will and not Jeremy who had slowed them down, he turned his attention to the exhibit, raising his brow at the sight of the image and project before them.

Maybe Will was right about this... but he supposed that it would still be fun anyways.

Tuning out the rest of Rich and Will's conversation, Jeremy moved up to his other friends, finding himself beside Jake as they carried on to the next one.

"This wasn't what I was expecting." He admitted, unable to help the small snicker of disbelief pass by his lips at what awaited them for the next project on display.

Jake chuckled, nodding his head in agreement to his words as he arched a brow at what they were staring at.

"Yea, but I've come to learn that you should always be prepared to be thrown off your game when it comes to outings with Christine." He admitted, turning his head to smirk up at Jeremy. "Did I ever tell you that for our first date she suggested a First Aid course?"

Jeremy snapped his head around to stare at him, his eyes blown wide as a disbelieving laugh slipped passed his lips.

"What?"

"Yup. It was a weekend course, eight hours for two days and a test at the end."

Jeremy couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, catching the attention of some of the other visitors while the people in their group tore their attention away from what they were looking at and back towards the two in the centre.

"What are you two laughing about?" Christine asked, a soft smile on her lips as she arched a single brow at her boyfriend.

"Our first date." Jake grinned, her face brightened up at the mention of it while Micheal raised a single brow.

"Oh yea! I remember that! It was a pretty tough course but we passed it!"

Jeremy couldn't stop the fond smile that pulled at his lips at the sheer adorableness that was Christine. While most other people went out for coffee, dinner, or the movies, she was dragging them off to lessons on how to save people.

"If I recall correctly," Will's voice suddenly spoke up, his body coming up on Jeremy's other side seemingly out of nowhere, "you said you were going to point out exhibits that I could debunk."

Unsure of where this strangely hostile tone was coming from, Jeremy turned his head to stare over at the other, pressing his lips into a thin line as he eyed him.

"Well sorry but you were talking with Rich. I didn't want to interrupt you."

"The conversation I was having with Richard is over." Will snapped, his sudden mood swing leaving Jeremy baffled.

Turning to face the one on his other side Jake didn't offer any help, he simply shrugged, an amused sort of grin over his face as he placed his hands in his pockets and turned his attention to the next project. It seemed he was going to leave Jeremy to figure this one out on his own. Asshole.

"I don't know, what about..." Scanning around the room he trailed off, trying to pick out something that might have at least held a little bit of interest for them both that Will couldn't possible ruin right away.

With his attention drawn away he didn't notice a group heading in their direction, and with Will's attention on him, the squip didn't seem to notice either. Not until one of them accidentally bumped into Will, jolting him into Jeremy without so much as a tossed over apology.

"Watch where you're going."

The moment he turned his head to see just who Will was hissing at, Jeremy wished he could have slapped his hand over the other's mouth.

There was five of them, and they were huge. Maybe not so much tall, but they were wide and thick and nothing but muscle. No doubt on the football team and just looking for something different to do tonight and thought that at the very least they could get a laugh from this. Will in comparison to them was tiny, a little kitten hissing at a pack of wolves, and yet, Jeremy couldn't stop the dread of just how badly Will could fuck these guys up from turning his stomach.

They were just humans. Alpha dogs no doubt, but Will was already in a pissy sort of mood and Jeremy had seen the raw power that he had, he could feel it. There was no way that these guys would be able to stand a chance against someone who could electrocute them without so much as a second thought, and that was the only power that Jeremy had ever seen. Who knew just what other abilities Will was keeping to himself.

Then again they were in public. Hopefully if their cover had to stay as secrete as it did then Will wouldn't even think of using it.

The group however just stared at him, their faces scrunching up in confusion as they looked back and forth between each other, none of them seeming to notice just what it was that they had done.

"What was that?" One of them, apparently the leader of their little group, asked as he turned his full attention back to Will.

"I said watch it." Will snapped. "Or are you as deaf as you are ugly?"

"Will." Grabbing a hold of his shoulder Jeremy pulled him back, smiling sheepishly at the others as he did so. "Sorry, he uh, hasn't taken his medication today."

The man immediately relaxed, his brows pulling together in concern as he waved the others in his group off.

"Oh, don't worry about it then man, my Mom's the same way. Have a nice night."

Glad that they had managed to defuse the situation easily, and feeling guilty over having to lie and apparently used such a close to home topic, Jeremy let out a long breath as they continued on their way. He wasn't sure just what they might have thought Will would need medication for but he supposed there were a lot of different things out there to help with mood swings or sudden, hyper aggression.

"What was that!?" Will snarled, turning on him so fast that Jeremy's hand was basically yanked from his shoulder.

Staring down at the other, Jeremy could have asked him the same question. There was just something... off about Will tonight, something that had only seemed to occur the moment that they walked in the doors.

"Uh, Jeremy can I have a word with you?" Tossing a look over his shoulder at Jake, Jeremy noticed that the rest of their group had shuffled somewhat awkwardly together. Almost as if they had been ready to jump to their defence but knew they'd be in the wrong anyway.

With a simple nod of his head he turned and walked over to Jake, allowing himself to be lead a little further away from the group as he gave one last glance over to see Rich walking up to a fuming Will.

Once they were a fair distance away, or at least far enough away that Will wouldn't be able to hear them over the rest of the people there, Jake ran his hand through his hair.

"Look, um, try to be a little easy on Will tonight okay?"

Eyes blowing wide in shock Jeremy couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Me be easy on Will? I haven't even done anything!" He snapped, throwing his hands out in exasperation.

"Yea I know but, okay, Will's... this is your first time out together right?"

At the random question, Jeremy felt his anger easing up, his brows pulling together as he thought back to it. Of course they had been spending lots of time together. They didn't really have a choice in the matter. If Jeremy didn't learn how to control Will's energy and improve his own then he would end up dying, and that really wasn't something that he wanted to do any time soon.

"Why does that matter?" Jeremy asked, Jake let out a sigh before he continued.

"It's...it's a squip thing." He muttered, his gaze darting over to their group before they snapped back to Jeremy. "This is the first time that you guys have been in such a busy public place together, Will's just... a little on edge."

"That doesn't give him the right to snap at people, he's going to either hurt someone or get hurt." Jeremy pointed out.

"I know, I know." Jake agreed, raising his hands in the air as he spoke. "It's just... he's not used to being around so many people with you around."

Arching a brow, he couldn't help but wonder what that had to do with anything. They all lived in a small house together and he didn't seem to have a problem with either Christine or Michael. Just what was his problem with Jeremy being around other people out here? Was it not basically the same thing? Jeremy went to school and was surrounded by hundreds of people, if Will had such a problem with him being around others then why hadn't he said anything about it before?

But if there was anyone who might know just what he had to do to try and keep the other calm, it would be Jake. He was a squip after all, maybe this was something that he had dealt with before with Christine.

"So...," trying to think of a way to word his next few questions, Jeremy placed his hands in the pockets of his hood and rocked back on his feet. "Will's on edge because we're in public and we're around a lot of people?"

"For the first few weeks after the whole bonding process, we're very... protective of our hosts. The more people around the more it feels like you guys might be in danger and it raises our aggression levels. It will wear off eventually but right now Will's going to be a little possessive of you for a while."

Glancing back over to the group Jeremy found his gaze locking with Will's, seeing just how intensely Will was watching him even from across the room.

Yikes, it would seem that Jake wasn't kidding.

Turning back to face him Jeremy continued on with his next question.

"So, is there anything I can do to help... settle his nerves?"

This was just so weird. He felt like he was talking to a vet about what to do with his skittish pet.

"Physical contact helps." Jake admitted. "It actually helps for a lot of things and... well, I'll let Will tell you what else if he wants, but just the feeling of you near him should help him to calm down immensely."

"Alright."

"Don't worry, you'll be okay. I promise you that he's not going to shock you or anything like that."

Well, he hadn't really been thinking about that but now that Jake was mentioning it he really hoped that Will wasn't going to try and hurt him in any way for trying something. Still, he allowed Jake to lead them back to the rest of the group, his eyes taking in the way that Will brought the sleeve up to his mouth again in a whole new light.

Will wasn't bringing it to his mouth, he was bringing it to his nose. He was smelling it, smelling the scent of Jeremy. No doubt he hadn't wanted to tell Jeremy about this part of the deal and had maybe thought that wearing something of his might help to curb the aggression he knew would be coming his way. It was almost kind of... cute in a way.

Swallowing down any second thoughts that he had about Jake's advice, Jeremy marched up to the group, not saying a single word to any of them as he threw his arm around Will's shoulders and forced a smile to his lips.

"Is everyone ready to continue?"

Christine smiled, nodding her head as she reached out and took a hold of Jake's hand, dragging him to the next exhibit. Micheal just gave a small shrug of his shoulders, his own arm wrapped around Rich's waist as Rich stared at the two of them in opened mouthed shock. Will on the other hand seemed too stunned to do anything, his body tensing under Jeremy's arm as he kept his gaze stubbornly facing forward.

Unable to help but wonder if maybe Jake had been wrong, Jeremy hesitantly lifted his arm from the other's shoulders.

"Sorry I..." but before he could finish, Will grabbed a hold of his wrist, forcing his arm back to where it had been resting and yanking Jeremy forward after the rest of the group.

"We can not keep falling behind Jeremy." He muttered, still refusing to meet Jeremy's own burning stare as he looked out at the rest of the tables that had been set up.

Honestly he couldn't have expected it to go any better, and Will wasn't lashing out at him so that was good. Feeling the smallest of smiles pulling at his lips, Jeremy tightened his hold around the other's shoulders and took the lead.

"Hey, so I was wondering what you think about the reanimation project of..."

"Oh please," Will scoffed, surprisingly no real bite to his words as he spoke. "They might as well have just brought a pop up book of Frankenstein's monster."

Snickering mostly to himself, Jeremy gave a small roll of his eyes. It seemed that Jake's advice was actually helping. Sure Will wouldn't look at him but at least now he didn't appear to be ready to bite off anyone's head either.

Looking ahead to the rest of their friends he tilted his head when he saw a group of three very pretty girls chatting with Christine. Figuring that these were the ladies that she said she had wanted to introduce them to earlier, Jeremy continued forward. It was Will who came to a halt, his whole body tensing under Jeremy's arm as a low hiss slipped passed his lips. They were close enough for the noise to draw the attention of the others however, and with a large smile on her face, Christine turned to the rest of them, motioning out to the girls with her hand.

"Great time to catch up with us, you two." She said, the three girls turned their attention on to the stragglers of the group. "I was just about to introduce everyone! I would like for all of you to meet Chloe, Brooke, and..."

"Jenna." Will's voice was a low growl, his gaze nearly glowing brightly as the girl he addressed smirked back at him.

"Hello William, funny to see you here. Last I heard you were wandering around Africa."

"Well I hate to tell you but your Intel is old. Maybe you should update your system."

Not entirely sure just what was going on, Jeremy turned to the rest of the group for help. Rich and Jake had gotten oddly stiff, their gazes not leaving her form for a second as if they were afraid that if they did she would disappear. Micheal and Christine on the other hand shared mirrored looks of confusion with Chloe and Brooke as the two continued with their little staring contest.

Soon enough however Jenna seemed to grow bored of their little game, turning her full attention to Jeremy as her eyes racked up and down his frame. He wasn't sure just what it was, but a chill crawled down his spine at the look. He felt like she was prying into his mind, as if she could see everything he tried to keep hidden away as easily as if he had offered his most private thoughts to her in a picture book.

Will stepped in front of him then, his sharp teeth bared at the girl and drawing her attention back to him.

"Cute host."

"What are you doing here?" Will snapped, ignoring her comment as a wicked smile settled across her lips.

"Why, I'm here to learn of course."

Some how, Jeremy highly doubted that was at all true.


	13. Chapter 13

No one was too sure just what to say. While Jeremy and his group knew about squips and just who they were, the same couldn't be said for Christine's two other friends. Jenna didn't seem too shy about it, but had she told them? Just what did they know? If they didn't know anything then should Jeremy try to find some way to get them out before they figured it out or were told? If they did know should he be getting ready for one of them to jump out and start attacking him?

Was Jenna even a squip? Sure she seemed to know that Will himself was one but was she one herself or was she like Jeremy and just knew of them?

Just what was he supposed to do here?

Feeling a little unsure and poorly footed, Jeremy decided to stay where he was and to keep his mouth shut. Will would know what to do. He would know the right course of action and they would all just play along accordingly.

You are okay.

He jumped when the soft voice of Will drifted through his mind, his mental shields down in his frightened state. He wanted to curse himself for not keeping them up, but while he had gotten used to doing so in a normal environment, under emotional distress was a little more challenging. He was distracted from berating himself however, by the fact that it was Will trying to help him calm down. Will, who was speaking softly to him in the safety of their shared link. It was such a contrast to the snarling male standing before him that he couldn't help the shock that left him, too stupefied to answer.

"It's nice to see you all again." Jenna continued, no doubt addressing the other two squips as well as she turned her attention to them, earning stiff nods in return. "It's been so long since the academy hasn't it?"

Academy? Is that what it had been? Or was she trying to code it for them so that the two girls next to her side wouldn't know? If that was the case then he supposed that he could relax just the slightest. As pointed as she was being, she really hadn't outed them, and didn't seem to want to be outed herself either.

"We should catch up some time, just the three of us."

At the pointed look she gave to the three non-squips Jeremy could tell what she was hinting at. It was going to be a private squip conversation, no humans allowed.

He tried not to take offence to that but he'd never really been one to like being brushed off either. Still he bit his tongue. This was Will's world. He wasn't about to butt in and ruin something that might be important.

Will on the other hand tensed at her words, as did Rich and Jake at his side. Seeing the effect that she had she dropped her smirk, a more serious look overcoming her face as any source of attitude was removed.

"Honestly I just want to talk."

Finally the tension seemed to shift. It wasn't completely gone, but it wasn't nearly suffocating the rest of them either.

"We will set up a time for later." Will said, his voice not nearly as hostile as it had been before. "But I do believe that we are being rude to the rest of the group here." He said with a simple wave of his hand as he gestured to the two other girls. "Ladies, it is an honour to meet such good friends of Christine. If you are anything like her then I am sure that you are pleasurable company."

The two girls blushed, one far more brightly than the other as Jenna gave a hard roll of her eyes.

"My name is William, this young man is Jeremy Heere."

Although he was fully capable of introducing himself he couldn't help but be a little bit relieved as he gave the two a sheepish smile with the tiniest wave of his hand.

"Hello."

"A little meek for you isn't he?" Jenna questioned with an arch of her brow, earning a growl from the dark-haired squip in return.

Thankfully Rich jumped in before they could go any further, potentially saving the whole building as he held his hand out.

"Hi, I'm Richard, but you can just call me Rich. And this is Micheal, my fiancee." The pride in his words and the bright blush on his face made Jeremy smile, his grin only growing when Micheal let out a coo at his husband-to-be and trapped him in a tight bear hug.

"Aw! Cute!" Brooke giggled, her hands coming up to her face as she smiled at the two of them.

"It's nice to meet you all." Chloe said, her mascara lined eyes scanning them all from top to bottom, making Jeremy tense. "Christine has told us so much about you."

Well, hopefully she didn't tell them everything.

Jeremy could see that the thought passed by Will's mind for a moment, his face becoming unsure before he quickly covered it up, forcing the corners of his lips to tilt up as he gave a nod to them both.

"Well, while this has been fun and such a joy to meet you all," Jeremy had no idea how he managed to say that and yet not sound the least bit sarcastic, "Jeremy and I really must be going. There is a test coming up that he must study for and I am afraid that I am his study partner."

"Test? What te..." Jeremy gasped, unable to finish his sentence as Will elbowed him discreetly in the stomach.

Wisely, the others chose not to say anything that could give away the bland lie, but Christine eyed them, her gaze moving from Jeremy to Will and back again before she seemed to come to her own conclusion.

"That's too bad." She said, with a small pout before her bright smile graced her face once more. "But I hope you guys had fun. I'm just glad that we could all do something together."

"Yes of course." Will agreed. "We must do this again some time soon."

Before Jeremy even had time to say goodbye, Will had turned and was all but dragging him away from the rest of the group.

"Wait, are we just going to leave them there? With that girl? Um, Jenna?"

"Jenna won't hurt any of them, least of all in such a public place." Will muttered, his voice sounding distant yet his grip on Jeremy's wrist tightening almost painfully. "I need to get us back. There are some things that I must find out before our little meeting with dear Jenna."

Jeremy didn't realize how hot it had been in the building until he took a step outside. The cold air was like a slap to the face, and he found his breath catching for a moment as its icy chill trailed down his spine.

When he was able to shake it off, growing used to it quickly after the initial shock, he finally turned his attention back to Will.

"So, who was she anyways? Is she another squip like you guys?"

Really, he didn't know if Will was going to answer him. While he seemed fine with answering questions, they did kind of just argue about it a few hours ago. What if Will told him that she was some different kind of squip that could control the minds of other peoples hosts or something like that? He wasn't sure just how he would respond to it. But it would be better if he knew just what they were going to be up against, and if Will wasn't going to tell him then he would just have to wait and talk to Rich and Jake.

Although they did seem to listen to everything that Will said and they didn't like to go behind his back and tell Jeremy things so... yeah maybe they wouldn't be much of a help either.

But dammit if he was going to be marched into something blindly!

"Oh calm down, Jeremy. The constant noise you make is about as comforting as a chainsaw."

Oh, right. He hadn't bothered to put his mental shields back up after the whole... Jenna thing.

Concentrating for a second, he quickly forced the wall between their two minds, satisfied that he'd done it right when he called Will a stuck-up-know-it-all and didn't even see the other flinch.

They slipped back into silence, Jeremy glanced down at the hand still tightly wrapped around his wrist. He didn't want to say anything about it, and he had a feeling that if he tried to ask about Jenna again then Will would just shut up for good. Besides, it felt nice, his fingers were warm and surprisingly calloused yet soft in some places. It sent a strange tingle up his arm, bringing a giddy smile to his face for a moment. The second that he realized it however he quickly shook his head, his actions catching the attention of Will.

When Will looked down to see just what it was that Jeremy was staring at he quickly ripped his hand away.

"Sorry."

Jeremy wanted to tell him that it was alright. That he hadn't minded it, but there wasn't any way that he could think of to say it without sounding creepy or at the very least like he was interested in it. So instead he just stuffed his hands into his pockets, the loss of heat from around his wrist quickly cooling at the chilled kiss of his sweater.

"Jenna," Will's voice broke through the air, swirling around them as if he was only speaking so that he would be able to take his mind off of what had just happened, "is like a connection between all of the squips." He explained. "Just like I can talk to you and know where you are as long as you're not too far away..."

"Wait, what?"

"Jenna is able to tell our location from around the world. She can also send us information, but we are not able to send information back. It is a one-way link."

"Okay." He guessed that he understood that. It made sense in a way. "But why aren't you guys happy to see her? If she's like one of you then shouldn't you be happy to see that another one of you escaped?"

Will shook his head, his lips pinched tightly together. He didn't want to speak of it, whatever it was that had happened. But if that was the case, he couldn't see just why Will would be trusting enough of her to allow her to be with the others. Whatever it was that had happened had to be pretty bad. Trying to think of what little information that he knew about them all, he wondered just what it could have been.

She was their age, and they were all apparently born there. Okay, that was a start. They must have all left, or really escaped the place at around the same time, and while Rich and Jake held no bad blood with Will and Will with them, they did with her so...

"Stop thinking. I can see your brain straining." Will muttered, turning off of the *sidewalk* and into one of the many parks around the neighbourhood.

Jeremy trailed a little bit behind him, watching carefully as Will brought his hands to his face and dragged them down before running them back up and pushing his hair out of his eyes. He didn't say anything, and Jeremy didn't bother to fill in the silence. While he wasn't sure just what was going on, it's not as if it was a new feeling for him, especially lately. He could wait until Will got his thoughts together and figured out if he really wanted to tell him or not.

After a few more seconds had passed it was as if he'd finally made up his mind, his hands coming down to his sides as he turned his body to face Jeremy once more.

"Not all of us escaped from the labs Jeremy, and as you can imagine, having someone who can pinpoint your exact location is a great tool for finding the ones who got away."

"Oh," now he could see what was going on. Now he could understand just why it was that none of them appeared too happy to see her, "she turned you guys in."

"She tried." Will hissed, as if the very idea of her succeeding offended him. "But as you can see she failed. Besides," he added with a wave of his hand, "she did manage to escape from them years ago. She had the courtesy to tell us at least that much."

"And you believed her?" That sounded a little strange. Jeremy himself wasn't sure if he would be able to trust someone who literally helped hunt him down. "What about the woman who we found you with the first time? Do you not think that..?"

"Oh, trust me." Will said, a laugh spilling passed his lips that was anything but humorous. "That is something else entirely."

"How do you know that though? She could be working with them. Shit! We just left the others with her Will! What if she's surrounding the place with those people and..!"

"The group of which you seem to think she is associated with would have killed her the moment she turned to them. She is too unpredictable and they would want her abilities to go to someone older and less rash, and the humans who created us are no longer a problem, because I... made sure they would no longer be a problem."

It seemed that he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself before he could get the words out. Jeremy couldn't help but wonder just what it was, but there was a lot in that sentence that had to be analyzed.

So there wasn't just the one group after them, but two, or there had been but one was now out of commission. No doubt they realized just how stupid it was to try and go against people that were basically super humans and had just given up. And Jenna used to work for the one that was out, but now she didn't, because Will had taken care of them and the other group would have... wait... just how would they have given her abilities to someone else?

"Will..." At the tense way the boy got at the sound of his name, Jeremy decided to continue with caution. "Just how would they have gotten a hold of her abilities? Um, is there like some type of squip upload or something that they can do? Do you guys have like... I don't know UBS ports or something that they could... connect to or..?"

Oh wow. He was really failing at trying to word this question. He could tell from the look over Will's face that he was slowly losing patience with him, but he just didn't know what to say. How on earth was it possible for them to take something that was a part of her?

"I..." Will stopped, looking away as he gathered up his thoughts. "I am tired, Jeremy."

Jeremy couldn't help but blink owlishly at his confession, not knowing what to do other than stand there and stare at the guy as Will let out a long sigh.

"All you need to know about is that your friends will be okay, Jenna is no danger to us, and Jake, Rich, and I will take care of everything, okay?"

No. No that wasn't okay, and Jeremy hated the idea. But the look over Will's face had him biting back on his response.

He'd always caught Will looking tired, always caught glimpses of him looking about two seconds away from crashing on the floor and not getting back up. It was a look that Will always hid when he noticed Jeremy staring. One that he always forced behind a snarl or a smirk. The fact that he was showing it willingly now had Jeremy stepping down, easing up on him for now until Will had more time to think everything through.

With a simple nod of his head he threw his arm around Will's shoulders once more. Even though they weren't surrounded by people and Will should have been fine, he didn't push Jeremy away. Instead he even reached up, his fingers returning to wrap around Jeremy's wrist as he gave them a tight squeeze.

"Let's go home."

He could get his answers tomorrow.


	14. Chapter 14

When he woke up the following morning, his stomach sank to see Will's side of the room empty.

He tried to ignore the strange pull at his gut, the crushing disappointment that haunted him throughout his morning routine as he got ready for yet another day in class, but it was hard to do when he realized that none of their squip companions were anywhere to be seen.

He knew he should have been enjoying this. This would have been the second day in a row that Will had allowed him to sleep in without any sort of interruption or insane morning workout that had to be done but... it just... it didn't feel right. He knew why Will wasn't here, knew why Micheal wasn't playfully teasing Rich as they ate breakfast or why Christine was drinking her tea alone rather than talking to Jake about everything that she was excited to do that day. He knew why the squips of the household had gone and it didn't sit right.

They should have given it more time. Will could have actually gotten rest.

He'd said that there were some things that he needed to look up before making a meeting with the girl, with Jenna. If he really had managed to get a hold of what he needed then that could have only meant that he hadn't slept a wink, and had somehow gotten a hold of her in order to set up such a quick meeting. And that was another thing that just made his stomach turn.

What was going on that needed them to react so quickly? Why did they think that their hosts or fiancee or girlfriends couldn't handle it? Why wouldn't they included them in whatever it was that was going on? What if any of them got hurt? What if those other squips came back and tried to hurt them? How were they supposed to help if they weren't there?

Letting out the longest sigh of his life, Jeremy dropped his head in his hand, his actions catching the attention of both Micheal and Christine as they brought their gazes up to him.

"You okay?" Micheal asked, not looking much better as he munched away halfheartedly on the corner of a golden toasted peanut butter slice.

With a jerky shrug of his shoulders Jeremy wasn't really sure what he should say.

Maybe this was for the best in some kind of messed up way. Maybe it was better for them all to stay out of it. They were just humans after all, just what did they know about the workings of squips? None of them had even known that there had been two with them for years so there was no way that Will was going to hire them for the squip spotting patrol.

"Are you upset because Will's gone?"

At Christine's words, Jeremy found his head snapping up.

Gone? Will was gone? As in gone, gone? Had he just left? Was he just running away and continuing his mindless trek around the world or something?

Seeming to notice the distress that her words brought, Christine quickly shook her head. "Oh no! Sorry! You see, Jake said that they were all stepping out today to meet up with Jenna, apparently it's some sort of squip thing."

Wait... Jake had told her he was going?

"Yea, Rich went too so I'm sure that they'll all be fine, but I don't know how much I trust that Jenna girl." He admitted, holding his hands up when Christine turned a sharp eye on him. "It's nothing against you as a person Chrisy. It's just, you know, sometimes you see the good in people and there's nothing there."

Jeremy would have normally jumped in to the conversation, but he found that he couldn't as he replayed their last few words. Both Rich and Jake had told the others where they were going. They had both mentioned to Micheal and Christine where they were going to be without a second thought? Why hadn't Will done that? He loved to wake Jeremy up. Admittedly more by flipping the bed over on him or some other jackassy way but still. Why didn't he bother waking him up for this? Even if he wouldn't have been allowed to go it still would have been nice to have been told rather than trying to figure out just why he wasn't with him this morning.

He'd thought that his relationship with Will was improving, so just why didn't he bother to tell him something as simple as this?

If Will didn't want him to be a part of the conversation then fine. He could live with it, but it was just common courtesy to let someone know when you were going to step out. Especially considering the fact that Will seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble. What if this Jenna girl was bad news? What if Will had just been trying to play it off last night? Wouldn't they need them all there to use their powers, abilities, or whatever?

Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Jeremy tried not to scowl down at his bowl of cold cereal.

Fine. Let Will go out and do whatever it was that he wanted to do without him. He didn't care.

Suddenly not feeling all that hungry, Jeremy stood up from his seat. His sudden action caught the attention of both Micheal and Christine but neither of them said anything as he scooped up his bowl and made his way over to the sink.

"I'm going to head to school early. There's some notes that I want to look over." He muttered, unsure of just why his chest felt like it was tightening as he refused to face either of them.

"Jeremy, Will and the others will be back in a little while." Christine pointed out softly. "Don't you want to wait to talk to him before you leave?"

"No."

What could he possibly talk to Will about? He didn't want him to have any role in what was going on other than to be used as his own personal battery. Well, Jeremy was his own person, and he had his own life to live outside of Will's crazy world. He couldn't be expected to just sit around and wait for him all day long.

"I'll see you guys at lunch."

He didn't wait to hear what they had to say. He didn't even continue to listen to see if they might have had anything to add. Without a second thought, he snatched his bag from where it was leaning against the counter and headed out the door.

Really, it was way too early to be going to school. He was leaving with... oh wow. A quick glance at his watch told him that there was going to be a good hour before his class started, but oh well. He'd find something to do. Or he'd just play on his phone until class started. He would figure it out when he got there.

Seriously though, what did Will have against letting them know what was going on? What did he have against them helping out? Was it because they were human? Was it because he thought that that made them somehow weaker? Well Jeremy wasn't sure if Will had seen any advanced robot movies but in the end it was always the humans that came out on top. Screw the advantages that he had. Jeremy was just as good to help out.

Why was he so bothered by this? Why did he care?

Bringing his hands up to rub at his temples, he tried to think it through.

Really, it made sense. Rich and Jake were his friends, hell, they were dating his best friends! He'd known them since high school! Known them for years. They were all living together. If there was nothing he could do about Will, he wanted to at least make sure that they were going to be okay. What if it hadn't been Will that the crazy squip lady had hunted down that night? What if it had been either Jake or Rich? What would have happened if he would have seen either one of them broken and bloodied like that?

What if having Will with them was just introducing that kind of situation into their midst? Was Jeremy going to have to start watching for people now? Was he going to have to start keeping an eye open around their home? What if those people followed Will here? Sure he'd told him not to worry but these people were his friends, squips or not, and he didn't want them to get hurt. Or worse, to die.

Thinking back to the first time he'd seen Will, Jeremy couldn't stop his stomach from rolling. It was a thought that normally came to him that he always tried to push out but... Will had nearly been killed the first time they met him. Killed. As in dead and gone. Their kind had been hunted down. The ones who created them had tried to eradicate them. How could it have been that Rich and Jake were as calm and carefree as they seemed? How could they smile and find love with the ever present fear of being found and killed off?

Why wouldn't Will want anyone to help ease that sort of stress? Did he not want to get the others involved not because they were human but because he just didn't want them to get hurt?

Well that wasn't going to end well for him.

Christine and Micheal might have been calm right now, but once the seriousness of the situation and the truth about everything come out, they would be at the front line for anyone who wanted to hurt their loved ones.

But they didn't know what Jeremy did about Jenna. What she had done and how. No doubt they knew she was another squip, he was sure that the others would have told them at least that much, but he couldn't wait to see the fuss that they'll kick up when they found out just how much they had been left out.

In the end, they were all friends, and they wanted to help and do what they could to protect each other. And fine, Will didn't want him to be any part of it, but too bad. Jeremy would find some way to get himself pass that tight little shield that Will kept up, even if he had to pry at it with a crowbar.

By the time that he was at the front of the school, he could feel a gentle nudge against his own shield in his mind. Allowing it to drop for a moment he was quick to snap at the other.

What?

Well, someone sure is moody this morning.

Fuming, Jeremy clutched the straps of his backpack in order to keep his hands at his sides and not to start strangling the air in front of him. People already thought he was really weird. There was no reason to add more fuel to that fire.

And here I thought you would have enjoyed sleeping in.

Giving a hard roll of his eyes, Jeremy pressed his lips into a tight line. Will could pretend that he was just trying to be a nice guy all he wanted. Jeremy wasn't going to fall for it. He knew just what a little prick the guy could be.

Whatever.

His short response earned him silence, Will's slight confusion could be felt from across their connection before he seemed to catch himself and reel it back into control. Just as Jeremy was about to enter into the school he spoke again.

I am...

Whatever it was he was going to say Jeremy didn't care to hear it. Shoving the shield back up he cut Will off. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that there was no way that Will was going to tell him what he was really up to and he wasn't in the mood to listen to whatever type of lie he had fabricated. He was going to help him whether Will wanted it or not, but he was still allowed to be a little pissed at the guy for right now. After school, they could talk.

He just needed some time to seethe for a little bit longer and then he would get over it. Mostly.

Unsurprisingly, there weren't many other students wandering around the halls at this time of day, not that Jeremy could blame them. Really, he wouldn't have minded heading back home and curling up in his bed in order to catch just a few more z's of sleep. No doubt that Will was going to start waking him up at ungodly hours again starting tomorrow. Maybe even earlier than normal for payback of Jeremy not listening to him.

Brushing the thought off, he made his way towards his class. He knew that the door would be locked but he didn't mind just sitting outside of it until the teacher came. There were some new episodes of his favourite show available anyways if he didn't feel like playing any of his games.

Pleased with his half-assed plan Jeremy could feel the slight tension in his chest easing at the sight of his classroom door.

He'd never thought that he would have been happy to be at school, but then again he also never really thought that a half human, squip thing would invade his life and turn his world on his head either.

Ugh. Why did they have to walk through the school that night?

But if they hadn't then Will would have been dead.

...

As the thought passed through his mind, Jeremy leaned against the wall, sliding down it until he was seated on the ground right next to the door.

Even though Will hadn't been a part of his life for long —man had it really only been a week?— for some reason or another he couldn't imagine his life without the guy. He couldn't imagine getting up without seeing Will first thing, obviously something that was proven by how he had felt this morning. But what if this feeling got worse? What if he ended up becoming dependant on Will?

He could feel the soft nudge against his shield start up again. This time he shoved it away. He didn't want to listen to whatever bullshit story Will had to tell him. Besides, what did Will have to worry about? Apparently he always knew where Jeremy was anyways. If he really wanted to talk to him then he could walk here.

Then again Jake had told him that Will was going to be sensitive to a lot of people being around Jeremy for a few weeks, maybe it would be better if he didn't show up. The last thing that Jeremy needed was to be responsible for some type of power outage or sending kids to the hospital because Will was being territorial. It's not like Jeremy was his property, but he supposed Will was going to be protective of him as his power source. Jeremy always made sure to keep his eye on his own phone charger. He hated it when people tried to snatch it up or steal it. He didn't even like letting his friends borrow it if he could help it.

Again the nudge came, harder this time, with enough force that Jeremy had to give a shake of his head, his fingers coming up to press against his forehead to try and help ease up the pressure. His brows scrunched up as it started to get slightly painful, but he didn't want to cave in.

Will deserved to squirm for a little bit. Just like Jeremy had when he'd woken up this morning.

"Jeremy?"

He nearly jumped to his feet, his hand tearing away from his head and snapping over to the owner of the voice.

A cute little blond stood there, her books in her hands as she looked down at him, the tips of her hair curling in to frame her adorably round face while she gave the slightest tilts of her head.

"Are you okay?"

He stared at her blankly. He knew that he should have known who she was, but... nothing was coming to him. He felt like an idiot, staring up at this person who apparently knew who he was but who he had no idea who they were. His face flushed slightly in embarrassment and shame as he gave her a sheepish smile. Maybe if he could keep her talking he could try and figure it out.

"Yea," He muttered, wondering just when in his barely sociable life he had met such a cute girl. "Yea, um, just, a headache."

"Oh!"

She shifted the books in her hands, pulling her satchel to the front of her before she started digging through it one-handed. Seeing that she was having some trouble, Jeremy got up and reached out for her books, gently taking them with a smile as she grinned back at him in thanks. Now with both of her hands free she was able to find what she was looking for that much quicker, pulling out a pill bottle and holding it out to him.

"This should help."

He stared down at it, bottle in her hand. He would have wondered why she had it but maybe she was just a partier and needed pain killers on a regular basis. Who knew? And he wasn't going to ask.

"Thanks." Handing her back her books he took the bottle, popping the cap open and pouring two in the palm of his hand. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to figure it out any time soon on his own he finally gave up with a small sigh. "Um, I'm sorry but I... where have we met before?"

She was quick to put the bottle back in her bag, her smile never once leaving her face as she gave a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Well you guys didn't stay long so I'm not too surprised." She giggled, offering out her hand as she spoke. "I'm Brooke. Christine's friend, we met briefly last night."

"Oh!" Shock coloured his features as he snapped his hand out and took a hold of hers, basically engulfing her small fingers as he did so. "I'm so sorry! There was, um, you know... uh, yea..." He trailed off lamely, unsure of just where he could go from there.

She didn't seem to mind though, giggling gently at his stumble as she dropped her hand back to her side.

"It's okay. Do you need some water to help you drink that?" She asked, nodding her head towards his hand that still held the pills in it.

Jeremy took a quick glance down at his hand, wondering if he really should take any of them. He'd only been going to do so when he was trying to ignore Will, now he didn't seem to be trying to get a hold of him so there wasn't much pain but if he said no it would also look a little weird so...

Take strong pills he didn't need or seem like a total weirdo for taking them and then just giving them back?

Jeremy supposed nothing would really hurt him if he took them anyways.

"No, it's okay. I can take them dry."

Popping them into his mouth he swallowed, and just about choked on it. His eyes blew wide as they caught halfway down his throat, the burn of it making them water and him cough as he pounded his hand against his chest. Brooke seemed just as shocked, dropping her books to the ground as she scrambled around once more in her bag. When she offered out a bright pink water bottle with pretty little white flowers decorating the entire outside he quickly snatched it from her. Bringing it to his lips he chugged at least half the bottle in one go, gasping for air as he felt them slip down his throat.

"Thank you." He panted, his face bright red as he slowly handed it back.

"That looked painful." She said, her large doe eyes looking at him in pity. "Are you okay?"

Oh great. Now she was going to think that he was a loser and avoid him for the rest of the year. He was going to have to apologize to Christine later.

"I'm fine."

An awkward silence fell over them, neither of them knowing just what to say in the situation as they stood there. Not for the first time in his life did Jeremy wish that the floor would just open up and swallow him whole. Or for a lighting bolt to come out the sky and strike him down. He did not have good enough social skills to deal with this! He needed help!

But there was no one there to help him out, so he was going to be on his own for this mission.

Clearing out his throat he choked, the small noise turning into a coughing fit as he turned his head away and pressed his mouth against the inside of his elbow. He stiffened when he felt a tiny hand slid up on his shoulder, but only when the coughing subsided did he turn to look down at the small female.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, her glossy lips tilted up slightly in the corners.

Deciding that there was no point in trying to hide it he let out a long sigh.

"Sorry. I'm, um... I'm not really good with stuff like this."

She didn't seem bothered by the small confession, rocking back on her feet as she let him go and he turned to face her once more.

"Don't worry. Nobody's really a natural at these things. You've got to work at them."

Although he knew that wasn't true, it was still nice to hear it. Unable to help himself, he found his body moving slightly closer to her, wanting to bask in the light that seemed to glow around her as she smiled up at him.

"So, is this your first class?" She continued, nodding her head towards the door.

"Um, yea. This is my first class."

"Cool! Me too!" She chirped, only then seeming to remember that she had dropped her books.

As she bent down to pick them up Jeremy joined her.

"Where do you sit?" He asked, offering her a small smile, reaching out to grab a hold of one of the heavier hard copies. "I normally sit in the front row, five rows back from the teachers desk."

"I'm in the back." She said, her smile bright as she reached out for the last book. "Just three seats away from the door."

Their fingers grazed each others, both of them freezing for a moment before Jeremy snapped his hand back. His face flushed, all of the blood running up to fill his cheeks as they got back to their feet. He didn't look at her, finding that he couldn't without fear of his face bursting into flames while he tried to think of what to say from here.

"Um, I don't suppose that you would want to sit together?"

What!? That was his question! What the hell was he thinking! There was no way that such a cute girl would want to sit with him. She was just being nice. She was just a friend of Christine's and didn't want to be rude. She...

"Sure!"

At the happy little response she gave he found his head snapping back. She didn't look upset or embarrassed or put off at all. In fact Jeremy couldn't see any sort of trickery or anything in her face as she held up a loose leaf paper in her hand while she smiled openly at him.

"Would you like to look over each others homework before class begins?"

His mind short circuited, completely shutting down at the sincerity behind her words. Why on earth would she want to hang out with him of all people? But his lips moved without his consent, his mind making up itself for him as he found his head nodding.

"Yea... yea, that sounds great."

Able to push everything going on with Will and squips and Jenna to the back of his mind for just a few short minutes, Jeremy sat down next to the cute girl and allowed himself to feel like a normal college kid for once.


	15. Chapter 15

By the end of the day Jeremy was on cloud nine, and had all but forgotten about how angry he'd been at Will as he basked in the joy of being in Brooke's presence.

He had no idea just how many classes that he shared with Brooke, or that he had break and lunch with her as well but now that he knew he couldn't have been happier. They had spent the whole day together, or at least most of it. There were about two classes that they didn't have with one another but it wasn't too bad. Brooke had given Jeremy her phone number and they spent the whole two classes chatting back and forth with one another.

Honestly he had no idea just what had happened in those classes, but he was sure that he wasn't missing anything.

Now they were stepping into one of the many coffee shops that surrounded the college, both of them just wanting to grab a drink and chat just a little bit longer before they went home for the day.

Scooping both of their drinks from the counter, Jeremy snickered at the joke Brooke had just finished telling, walking them over towards a booth against the front window as she followed closely next to him.

"Thank you!"

He gave a sheepish nod of his head as she gently took her drink carefully from his hand before they both slid into the booth.

"So," He said, blowing on the top of his cup before taking a small sip, "if we have so many classes together where did you meet Christine?"

He'd been wondering. From what she had told him of her schedule, she didn't share a single class with the girl, how had they met?

His question however made her blush, her bright eyes dropping to the table top as she played with her mug for a moment.

She tapped her fingers nervously against the porcelain sides, her nails creating a small 'tint, tint' noise as she took a shy glance up at Jeremy through her eyelashes.

"Promise you won't make fun of me?" She asked, her little voice meeker than he'd heard it all day.

Giving a stubborn nod of his head, Jeremy took another large sip of his cup.

"Of course."

He and his friends were always really open with each other, they had never really been embarrassed to share anything with one another and it set a spark of sadness up in him to see it in her. He knew where that kind of feeling came from, the feeling of judgment and ridicule. No doubt she had told someone something close to her heart once, only to have it thrown in her face and humiliated with it. He'd watched it happen countless times in high school. Had stood on the sidelines when he'd been too frightened to step in and watched kids tear each other apart over their differences. He would never want to do that to someone. He would never want someone to feel that way.

She took in a deep breath, her eyes darting around to see if anyone was listening before she leaned over the table to bring herself closer to him, as if she didn't want her voice to carry over the room and draw any type of attention.

"We go to the same palates class, and one night after we had finished I... I'd been in a really good mood and I was singing Candy Store, you know, from the HEATHERS musical? And she just about screamed and joined in with me."

Jeremy waited. Waited for her to continue and see just what it was she was so worried about. But she didn't. She sat back in her seat, falling silent as she picked up her mug again and brought it to her lips. When she kept her eyes averted from Jeremy's gaze, it finally clicked.

She was a Broadway fan.

He laughed.

The moment the amusement slipped passed his lips he regretted it. A shadow passed over her face and when she shot to her feet he quickly reached out and grabbed a hold of her hand.

"Wait! Wait! I'm sorry!"

He knew he wasn't going to have very long to explain himself, he could already see her pulling away. But he didn't want that, not when they had basically just met and were getting along so well.

"I... um... I wasn't making fun of you I swear, I just... I thought that it was cute. Everyone at my house is a big Broadway fan and we're always breaking out into songs and whatnot and I was just imaging how well you would probably fit in with everyone. I wasn't making fun of you, I swear."

Her big eyes looked at him skeptically. Jeremy kept his face open, honest. He let her see just how sincere he was. After a long moment she slowly sat back down.

He smiled at her softly, quickly pulling his hand away when he realized that he was still holding her hand as a bright flush lit up his own cheeks.

Coughing somewhat awkwardly he dropped his eyes to the side, not sure just what to say.

"Which one's your favourite?" Her question drew his attention back, his brow raising in question. "Musical. Which one's your favourite?" She asked again, clearer this time as she gave a small smile to him.

She was still nervous, a far cry from the girl he'd been hanging out with all day, but he didn't mind.

"I really liked Wicked. It was the first one I was ever introduced to and I just fell in love with it." He admitted, feeling no shame in it as he watched her relax even more. "In fact we had a Broadway musical karaoke night and me and Rich dominated with our cover of Loathing."

Brooke snickered, finally slipping back into the easy-going girl she'd been all day as she gave a small tilt of her head.

"Rich? He's the little one with sandy blond hair right?"

"Yup." Oh, Rich would just looove that description. "It's basically our theme song."

She laughed again, the sound light and airy as she continued to sip at her drink.

"It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun."

There was something in her voice, some source of longing in her gaze that pulled at Jeremy's heartstrings. He wanted to make her smile, to make her feel welcomed, to show her just how much fun it could be to have a full night of nothing but friends and Broadway show tunes. Busting out songs at the top of their lungs with no care in the world.

"You should join us."

She seemed genuinely shocked by his suggestion, her eyes blowing wide from over the rim of her mug.

"Really?" She sounded completely breathless, as if the idea was too good to be true.

Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle at her adorableness. This time she didn't try to run.

"Of course." She would fit right in with the rest of them, and they would all have so much fun together. Besides, he'd be lying if he were to say that he wasn't at least a little bit curious to know what her singing sounded like. "We should set up some time soon, you know, celebrate the first month of school being over."

Man, he couldn't believe that the whole school year wasn't over. It felt like everything was just going by so quickly lately.

"That sounds great!" The smile over her face was the widest he'd seen it yet, the joyful glow from her eyes nearly blinding him as he felt his cheeks heat up once more.

He could get used to this. He could get used to being friends with Brooke. He was really glad that Christine had introduced them.

(***)

"And just where have you been?"

Any joy that he had been feeling was quick to flee under the intense glare of Will.

This was honestly the last thing that he wanted to deal with tonight. He'd just finished having the best day of his school life so far. He didn't want Will to ruin it by telling him that he'd missed his workout section or something like that.

"Like you don't know. Don't you have like, a GPS tracker of my location or something?" Jeremy muttered, his words coming out more bitter than he intended.

He didn't want to start a fight with Will. In fact he could remember that at the beginning of the day he'd made up his mind to talk to Will once he got home about helping him but... man he hated being interrogated the second he walked in the door.

His sass didn't earn him any brownie points with the other either, Will's lips twisting into a snarl as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"I... You know that it could be dangerous for you to be out on your own so late." Will muttered, not moving an inch as Jeremy kicked off his shoes.

"Really? I thought you said that everything was fine?" He mirrored Will's own stance, feeling slightly triumphant when he saw the slightest twitches across Will's brow. "Besides," he continued, using his height to his advantage as he towered over the other. He was sure that Will would have been proud of his rim rod straight posture if it wasn't being used against him. "I wasn't alone. I was hanging out with Brooke."

Not willing to deal with Will's attitude for the rest of the night, he slipped passed him.

"Brooke?" How was it that Will's tone sounded even colder than before? "You mean that girl that we met last night?"

Well, Will certainly had a better memory than he did. Then again, he is part supercomputer. He probably had some place in his brain where he filed every piece of information away to save for later. Man, now that he was thinking about it, it was no wonder Jake and Rich seemed to do so well at school.

Speaking of the others, Jeremy could see them all sitting at the cramped table, their gazes looking anywhere but at Will or Jeremy. Obviously they didn't want to get in the middle of this spat.

"Why on earth were you hanging out with her?"

He could hear that Will had followed him down the three steps, and without any warning he quickly turned on the other, jabbing a finger against Will's chest as he hissed at him.

"Because I found out that she's apparently in my class this morning. She's in a lot of my classes actually. She's a nice, open person and she likes to listen just as much as she likes to talk. She kind and caring and considerate, so basically, the complete opposite of you."

Okay, so maybe that was overstepping a bit... but Will didn't look hurt, he just looked pissed.

"Jeremiah Heere, you do not seem to understand the deal that we have..."

"You mean this connection you forced on me!?" Jeremy snapped, throwing his hands up as he took another step towards the other, only slightly surprised when Will jerked back. "You seem to be forgetting the very important detail that I didn't get a choice in any part of this. You just needed someone to sap energy from and I was there. You don't hold any kind of monopoly over my life or what I do. The training, I understand and I'll continue with it because I don't want to die, but I'm not just your personal battery you know!"

And this was it. The problem that they had. The rift that had been there since the first time they had met after Will had connected them.

Will just kept pushing Jeremy away. Kept shutting him out of everything that he had going on. He would barely tell Jeremy what he needed to know about squips, much less what was going on with him personally, and yet, he believed that he was allowed access to every personal part of Jeremy's own life. Since the first time they had connected, all of Jeremy's secrets, even things he'd never mentioned to Micheal who had been his best friend basically since birth, had been torn from him. He didn't even have a chance or a choice. He'd barely even known Will. The guy was a complete stranger, and basically still is. Yet he'd just torn into Jeremy and mocked everything that he had worked hard to keep hidden for years. Disapproved of his lifestyle and his choices when he didn't even know him.

Even now, Will wanted to know where he was and who he was with, and why, but he hadn't even bothered to do the same for Jeremy before he'd stepped out just this morning. No doubt if Jeremy asked him just where he had been Will would shut him down, would write it off as nothing or tell him it was none of his business.

What they had was such a contrast to what the others did. They didn't care for each other, they barely even knew each other. Will hadn't chosen Jeremy as his host because he wanted to be with Jeremy, he'd done it because he didn't want to die. If Micheal hadn't already been connected to Rich then he would have taken him instead. In the end, Jeremy was nothing more than a convenience, and it wasn't something that he wanted to be reminded of constantly.

"I am sorry that you were dragged into this situation and trust me if I could have chosen anyone else I would have."

Although he hadn't been expecting anything else, the words still hurt to hear out loud. He struggled to swallow down the sudden lump in his throat. Hiding his strange crushing disappointment behind a scoff as gave a small shake of his head.

"Yea, okay, whatever."

He was too tired for this. Too tired to deal with any of it. Too tired to deal with the painful tightening in this throat or the burning just behind his eyes as he took a step away from Will and turned his back on him.

"I'm going to bed."

"But it's not even eight yet." Christine said, the only one brave enough to pipe up as she sat with her shoulders up to her ears. "And don't you want to eat something?"

"I'm not hungry."

He doubted that he would be able to keep anything down anyways. He felt sick. Like he was two seconds away from running to the bathroom and puking his guts out.

"Jeremy..."

"Fuck off, Will."

Thankfully Will didn't try to say another word, and Jeremy didn't waste time in slamming the door behind him. As he slid the lock in place he hoped that Will's ears picked up on it, and that he was smart enough to read between the lines for the action.

Only once he was in the privacy of his bedroom did he bring his hand up to his eyes, squeezing at the bridge between them as he tried to bite back on the tears.

It hurt. His whole chest felt as if it had been carved out and left gaping and oozing. He knew that Will didn't like him. Knew that if he did have a choice he would have chosen anyone else. It hurt to know that he wasn't good enough, that Will wished that he did have someone else because Jeremy would never be able to live up to his standards. He felt useless. He felt stupid and weak and pathetic and, and just... awful. And yet...

He didn't want to give up. He didn't want to not be there for Will if he needed him. He still wanted to help him if he got into trouble.

Bringing his hands to his face he rubbed them over his cheeks, over his eyes, rubbing away the tears that had started as he made his way over to his bed. Flopping back on to it he took in a deep breath, holding it until his lungs burnt and then releasing it slowly.

It was only when he heard a small buzz coming from his pocket that he removed his hands. Squirming until he was able to pull out the device and rubbing at his eyes while squinting at the message.

Brooke: Hey so there's this karaoke place around the college, and I thought that maybe we could go together sometime. It could be fun. :D

Smiling up at the message Jeremy could feel the tiniest twitch of his lips lifting up at the corners, the tightness in his chest easing slightly as he allowed his fingers to type his response.


	16. Chapter 16

The idea of waking up Will the same way that he had been waking up Jeremy was tempting.

Really, really tempting.

But...

Looking down at the guy passed out ungracefully on the couch, his mouth hanging open, one arm thrown over his head and the other resting across his stomach. He was just too... defenceless, too trusting to ruin that by trying to scare him in any way. Jeremy couldn't be the one responsible for putting him more on edge. Not when he'd already been a bit of an ass last night.

Jake had warned him. He'd told him that Will was going to be a little overprotective, a little more aggressive towards others in Jeremy's life for a little while. He should have known that he wouldn't react well to be ignored for the whole day, and then for Jeremy to be coming home so late after hanging out with someone else.

They were both stuck in this situation, but there really wasn't a reason for Jeremy to be trying to make it worse than it already was.

With a long sigh he crouched down, hugging his knees as he continued to watch Will's chest rise and fall. He snickered, burying his face against his knees when Will shifted, turning around and wrapping his arms around a pillow, that he'd no doubt gotten from Christine, nuzzling his face against it with a small whine.

He looked so different when he was sleeping. When he wasn't scowling or sneering at anyone, he looked more peaceful, more at ease.

Jeremy didn't have the heart to jolt him from that as cruelly as Will did to him.

Slowly, he lifted his hand up, gently placing his fingers against Will's surprisingly soft cheek.

"Will." His voice was a hush, a near whisper as he moved his hand down to his shoulder, giving it a light shake. "Come on, wake up."

Will whined again, the noise so unlike anything he'd ever made when he was awake that Jeremy found himself laughing again.

"Will."

"Go away." Will whimpered, rubbing his face against the pillow again, his body pulling away from Jeremy's touch.

Aww, Jeremy almost wished that he could just keep him like this all the time. He was so much easier to deal with, and so much cuter.

"William." He brought his face closer, bringing his hand back to tap at Will's nose. This time he didn't bother holding back his awws at the way that Will's nose twitched, his brow scrunching as his eyes slowly fluttered open.

When Will finally managed to open his eyes all the way, his scowl was back almost instantly, his body tensing at the sight of Jeremy so close.

"Good morning."

Faster than he could blink Will was sitting up. Jeremy blinked at the space he used to be in, taking a second to turn his head and stare up at the other from where he sat scowling. He wasn't looking at Jeremy, his gaze turned towards his feet and his lips pinched as if he'd eaten something sour.

How many times were they going to start back at square one? How on earth were they supposed to get pass this point?

"Look," letting out another sigh Jeremy got to his feet, "I'm... I'm sorry. About last night."

"Last night was nothing..."

"No, shut up." This time he scowled down at the other, towering over him from where Will sat staring back up at him. "I... Jake told me that you were going to be a little bit um, clingy..." Will glared at him venomously for his choice of words and Jeremy quickly moved on. "Anyways—! I, I know that I was out of line last night. I didn't mean for it to sound like... like I..." He sighed again, dropping his head down and rubbing at his forehead as he tried to think through his words. He really needed to write this stuff down or come up with it before he tried to open his mouth.

As he lifted his hand, pushing his hair away from his eyes he waved his free hand towards the newly emptied spot next to Will.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

"I highly doubt you would actually care about my answer." Will scoffed with a roll of his eyes, sitting up straighter on his side.

Jeremy wasn't sure what to say to that. His fingers curled in towards his palm, his breathing coming in slowly as he tried to keep himself calm. It wouldn't do either of them any favours if he allowed himself to be baited by Will. He had to get this out. They have to set boundaries and figure this out if they didn't want to kill each other or worse.

Deciding that it had been a good enough answer Jeremy took a seat, quickly apologizing when his added weight caused Will to fall into him for a moment before he could right himself again. This couch really was too small, and while he and Micheal or anyone else in the house really didn't mind being squished together, from the way that Will all but jumped out of his skin to get away from Jeremy, he figured he didn't share the same thoughts. Just how on earth had Will even slept on this thing? Was his back killing him at all? Did his legs hurt from being bent all night?

Pushing the thoughts aside for now Jeremy turned back to the topic at hand.

"I'm glad that me and Micheal ran into you." He admitted. "I might not get a lot of what's going on or anything, and I might not be much of a help but I'm glad that you're here with us and that you're not still wandering out there on your own or..." He didn't want to say dead, but from the way that Will's fingers tightened their grip over his crossed arms he knew that he had picked up on it. "And I'm sorry when I overreacted to some of the things that you told me, but those were all stuff that I didn't even know could exist so, please just know that I'm trying."

Will turned his gaze to him from the corner of his eye, still refusing to look at Jeremy head on as he did so.

"I know that you wish that I would have been someone stronger, or someone smarter, or someone who's... not me, but..."

"You are fine."

Jeremy blinked. The words took a second to really sink in, his attention snapping towards Will fully only to see that he still wouldn't look at him.

"I... might have been out of line last night." Will admitted. "But your performance for the tasks that I have 'forced' upon you has been... satisfactory. I was not expecting smooth sailing from the start, Jeremy."

Jeremy wanted to say that they would have been fine if Will wasn't always such an ass about everything, but he bit his tongue. There was no reason for him to add to their negative emotions, not when Will was actually trying.

"Yea well, I haven't been much of a help there either." Taking in a deep breath, Jeremy continued. "It's just, I'm going to try to help you Will, I want to, and not just because we're connected or anything but, well, you know sometimes you seem like an actually pretty okay guy. You know, when you're not being a huge asshole." He reached out and flicked Will's nose when he opened his mouth to protest, snickering at the little squawk that Will gave as he batted his hand away. "But," his tone changed, shifting to a more serious one as his brows drew low over his eyes, "I don't like being kept in the dark and I need to be able to have my own life. I can't have you controlling everything that I do and who I hang out with, and I can't have you jumping into potentially dangerous situations without knowing anything about it."

"Jeremy you do not..."

"What if during one of your meetings or... um, whatever else it is you do when you're wandering around out there, you need me in order to keep yourself safe? What happens if I'm too far away to be of any use to you and you get hurt or kidnapped or worse? I don't have a tracking device for you, or, at least I don't think I do... do I?"

"No."

"See? There we go. If you go missing do you know how worried everyone is going to be? How afraid for you they'll be?" As the question slipped by Jeremy's lips he watched carefully as Will's brows furrowed, his gaze shifting from Jeremy to stare at the floor once more.

"Everything is fine, Jeremy." He muttered, Jeremy's glare only intensifying at his words. "We met with Jenna yesterday, she wishes no ill will towards anyone. I truly believe that she is just here to 'learn' as she put it. She has taken to human living rather well, just like Rich and Jake. She also has hopes of becoming an investigative journalist. All of the research I did concluded that she has not been in touch or involved with anyone else for years. She just wanted us all to meet so that she could... ask for forgiveness."

Jeremy was honestly shocked. He wasn't sure if he believed Will, but at the same time the guy had never outright lied to him. Still, it seemed pretty weird. She had wanted to ask for forgiveness and they had given it to her just like that? Had she not been the one to help hunt down others like themselves? Had she not been the one who had been tracking Will all over the world? Who knew just how often Will had to slip away from the ones that followed them, how many years he probably spent looking over his shoulder and jumping at every sudden move. And they were just willing to forgive that?

Will must have noticed the look over his face because he let out a long sigh, slouching slightly as he leaned back against the couch they were on.

"There are barely any of us left Jeremy, much less ones that wish no ill will towards their fellow squips. Besides, it was not her choice. It was one forced upon her. She has suffered enough, there is no reason to make her continue to do so."

Pressing his lips together tightly to hold back anything stupid he could have said, Jeremy kept quiet. He wasn't sure he would be able to forgive that quickly, if at all. But fine. If that's all that they had really talked about he was glad that Will was telling him.

"Thank you." Will seemed shocked at his words, his head whipping around to face Jeremy as he continued. "I was mad about yesterday because Jake and Rich told Micheal and Christine where they were going and you just kind of... left." His admission sounded a little petty now that he was thinking about it, but he didn't care. "I just, I guess that I was disappointed. I thought that we'd been getting along better and then you just kind of took off without a word and... well, you did agree to being more open with me."

"I... I can not tell you everything Jeremy."

"You don't need to!" Jeremy said quickly, waving his hands out as Will flinched, his body tensing. Noticing how much he was unsettling the other, Jeremy quickly controlled his actions. "Sorry, but Will, I... I understand that you don't want to tell me everything. I'm not asking you to tell me about everything or really anything from your past. You're here now, and I just want to make sure that you know that if you need help or even if you just want to talk, I can listen."

Silence fell over them. Will looked away again, facing forward as Jeremy tried to think about anything that he could say. Really, he'd just laid everything on the table. It was good to know that he didn't have to worry about what Will was up to yesterday. As long as Jenna and the rest of them didn't have any bad blood then he supposed that he didn't have to worry about her. But what did Will do all day when he was gone? What did he do when Jeremy was at school?

"I want to be able to help." Jeremy said, hesitating for a moment before he reached out and gently placed his hand on Will's shoulder. "But I'm not kidding about needing to be able to have my own life. You can't be mad at me for wanting to hang out with other people, and I can't spend the rest of my life with nothing but training and school work. I need to actually live too, and I think you need that as well."

Will arched a brow at him, but he didn't move away from Jeremy's touch. Seeing that as at least a little progress, Jeremy decided to elaborate on it.

"What is it that you do all day when none of us are here?"

"I do not have to...!"

"Easy." Jeremy cooed, running his hand down the other's back, shocked to see that it actually worked to help settle Will back down. "As long as you're not getting hurt from it I don't really have to know. It's just... well Jake and Rich, and Jenna too I guess, they're all moving on with their lives. They picked something that they're passionate about and something that they love doing. Don't you think that maybe you should do the same thing? I mean you don't have to go to school or anything but maybe it would be a good idea to... find something that you like, rather than just... existing."

It sounded weird. This whole conversation felt weird. He felt like he was a parent having a sit down with their child, but it didn't seem like Will had anyone to help him out with these sorts of things either. He didn't have anyone really at all. At some point he might have had Rich and Jake and maybe Jenna in some way, but from everything that Jeremy had picked out he'd been on his own for years. Someone had to point out to him that there was more to life than... whatever it was that he did everyday.

"What do you even like doing?"

"This is pointless Jeremy." Will snapped, knocking his hand away and getting to his feet. "If you want more... space, I can accommodate you, but I have too much to work on right now. I don't need to be worrying about your..."

"Will."

"The others can rest Jeremy." Will growled, "I can not. I do not expect you to understand..."

"Because you won't tell me anything."

"But I..."

"Are you guys having a lover's spat this early?"

They both snapped their attention around to the hall. Rich was standing there, leaning against the wall, one hand rubbing at his eyes and the other shoved deeply into the pocket of Micheal's hoodie.

Will took a step back from Jeremy, and from his stance he knew that the conversation was over. This was not a conversation that they wanted the others to hear. Letting out a deep sigh through his nose, Jeremy dropped his head to his chest before pushing himself up to his feet.

"Good morning Rich."

"Mornin' tallass." Rich mumbled groggily, moving towards them with a slow shuffle of his feet.

"Do not talk about Jeremy's ass."

Will's snarl shocked Jeremy, Rich looked a little more awake as his face paled slightly.

"Sorry, Will. It's a nickname."

"Well don't use it."

Neither of them dared to speak another word as Will marched towards the kitchen. When he started to busy himself with pulling out this and that for breakfast Jeremy tossed a questioning look over to Rich. The blond in turn gave a small roll of his eyes, his lips mouthing the words 'Squip thing' before wandering towards the kitchen as well.

Oh. Was Will also seeing the other squips as a potential threat to Jeremy too? Man, he was going to have to really make sure that the guy didn't snap and charge at someone. How much longer was this going to go on? Jake had said a few weeks but was that going to be two weeks? Three? A month? Longer? Man, was he ever going to have his hands full.

When Will snapped his fangs at Rich, the guy was only trying to grab out a cereal bowl for god's sake, Jeremy decided that maybe he should do something. With a roll of his eyes so hard that he was shocked they didn't just pop out he made his way into the kitchen as well.

Jake said physical contact helped. It couldn't hurt to try and settle him down a little bit.

"What are you making?" As he asked the question he slid his hands over Will's shoulders. Will tensed for a split moment before he relaxed again.

"Pancakes." He muttered, his voice low as he finished fishing out a large silver bowl.

"How would you like yours?"

"Crispy." Jeremy chuckled, resting his chin on top of Will's head. "Need help?"

"No, I am fine." Will said, shooing him away. "Go sit down. I will bring it to you when I am done."

Deciding that Will had been calmed for now Jeremy allowed himself to walk over to the table, sitting down next to Rich. He made sure to keep a small distance between them, not wanting Will to snap at Rich anymore than he already had. The blond smiled over at him appreciatively, pouring the cereal into his bowl before setting the box down.

"So I thought that we should throw a Broadway Karaoke night sometime at the end of this month." He said, catching Rich's attention as he poured milk over the colourful assortment of cereal.

"Broadway Karaoke night? Sounds like it could be fun. What's the occasion?"

"Well, I was thinking it could be to celebrate our first month of school going by without... well, much, of a problem." Jeremy said, sitting back in his seat before he continued. "I told Brooke that she could come, apparently she's a huge Broadway fan but nobody knows she is into it. I thought it could be good for her."

Both of their heads snapped around to see what happened when a loud bang echoed throughout the room. Will was hunched over at the counter, a box of flour in one hand, and a crushed egg in the other.

No one said anything and Will wouldn't turn around to face them. Had Jeremy said something to upset him? Did he accidentally drop the box and crush the egg and not want to talk about it? Will had never had a problem with things in the kitchen before.

"Probably best not to mention Brooke." Rich whispered, his voice so sudden and so near Jeremy's ear that he just about jumped out of his skin.

"Seriously?" Jeremy whispered back, arching a brow. "Even mentioning people?"

"Why do you think he was so mad last night?" Rich questioned. "And you're lucky he didn't just break the door down when you locked it. We don't take well to being forcibly separated from our host."

"Really?"

"Are you two gossiping hens just going talk or do you want to get the others up so that they can eat too?" Will's voice was sharp, the glare he tossed over his shoulder at the both of them even sharper as they both snapped up to attention.

"I'll go get Micheal!" Rich yelped, not wasting a second before he took off down the hall.

"I'll get Jake and Christine!" Jeremy squeaked, missing the small smirk that Will shot at them as he snickered to himself.


	17. Chapter 17

Jeremy wasn't sure just how much more awkward this morning could get.

Everyone was trying to act like nothing had happened the night before. They were laughing and carrying on as if both he and Will hadn't blown up at each other and Jeremy hadn't locked him out of their room. But they were laughing to hard, their smiles to forced, and the atmosphere that hung over them all was to thick.

No one was going to comment on it though, Jeremy had figured that out after the first five minutes of everyone sitting down at the table. Will, although he had made their whole spread, didn't touch a piece of food. He seemed content enough to sip away on a mug of black coffee leaning against the counter. And that just set everyone on edge even more.

They hadn't been there this morning for their little talk. They hadn't seen them sort out the few things they managed to get to before Rich had woken up. To them this was the same scene that they had all gone to bed too, and they were just waiting for it to explode in their faces.

He really wanted to tell them. Wanted to help settle their minds and let them know that he and Will had spoken to each other and while things weren't great they were better than before so at least that was something. There was no way that he could think of to bring it up though. No way that he could casually mention anything to any of them without having to worry about Will getting cross with him once more.

If they didn't all live together he would have even been able to think that it didn't matter. It wouldn't have been their problem so it shouldn't have been any of their business. But they all lived together. Anything that happened to throw their group dynamic off should have been addressed with everyone.

But he didn't know what to say. So he just sat there, pretending to laugh at Micheal's jokes, nod in agreement with Christine and high five Jake when it was necessary while at the same time trying to scarf down as much food that would be deemed appropriate. All they had to do was get through breakfast and than they could get to their daily hectic run around and forget all about this for a few hours while they tried to stuff their brains full with as much knowledge as they could.

Glancing over at Will he couldn't help but wonder if Will was going to give his advice any thought. It would really be good for him to find at least something that could take his mind off of his squip problems, even if it was only for a little while. He didn't see why Will couldn't be like Rich or Jake, or hell, even Jenna. He couldn't see why they were all able to go on to normal human lives while Will seemed to regard everything with a paranoid eye. Just what made his situation so different that he wasn't able to relax like the rest of them? What on earth was he so worried about?

When bright baby blues shifted over to him Jeremy found himself snapping his attention back to the table, choking on a mouthful of his food as he did so.

"Whoa, you okay dude?" Micheal asked, his hand coming down to lightly pat against Jeremy's back.

Jeremy on the other hand waved him off with a nod of his head. "Ya, sorry. Just, I just, wrong tube."

He tossed a glare over to Will when he heard him snort, but held himself back from flipping the other off as he turned back to the rest of the group.

"So, does anyone have any idea of what to do for this weekend?"

Rich was the first to pip up, shooting his fork holding hand in the air as he smile through a mouthful of food.

"I do!"

Micheal quickly reached over, whacking his boyfriend gently while he scolded him for speaking with his mouth full. Rich smiled at his sheepishly, swallowing down his breakfast before he continued.

"Me and Jake have a swim meet this Saturday! You guys should all come." The grin over his face was so bright it looked as if someone had shoved a flashlight down his throat.

Micheal was the first one to speak, smirking up at the smaller male as he rocked back on the legs of his chair.

"You know I'm in. I love seeing you in your swim uniform."

Jeremy had honestly never seen someones face light up so fast. It had to be some kind of record.

The rest of the table laughed at Rich's embarrassment, Micheal wrapping his arms around the guy in apology as he gave a soft kiss to the top of his forehead.

"A swim meet?"

Will's question had an instant effect. Everyone hushed, their voices being cut off as if they had the air snatched from their lungs. For his part Will didn't seem to notice what he had done, or that he was the cause of the sudden silence as he stared at Rich, and Jeremy couldn't help but feel a little bit proud over the fact that he actually wasn't glaring at Micheal this time. He wasn't looking at him either but he supposed baby steps were better than nothing.

"Ya," Rich said, a small nervous smile coming to his face as he spoke, "me and Jake are on the swim team so, you know, we have to go to meets and competitions and what not."

"And you enjoy this?" Will had moved closer to the rest of them, taking another sip from his cup as he did so.

Rich on the other hand seemed a little bit shocked by his question, unsure of just what he was supposed to say or what Will wanted to hear. "Well, ya." He muttered, his brows drawing together as he tossed a quick glance over at Jake. "It's a lot of fun and it's a great way to stay in shape."

Will gave a small hum at that, his gaze moving away from them all and towards the side for a moment as if in thought. Not for the first time did Jeremy wish that he could hear the guys thoughts as easily as Will had been able to hear his when they first meet. After a moment, whatever conclusion that Will had come to, he walked back over to the counter and placed his mug in the sink.

"I will be heading out now. You will not see me until seven."

"Wait, what?" Jeremy found himself standing before his mind even had time to think about it, following after Will as he breezed passed him and towards the door. "You're leaving? Until seven? Like, seven at night?"

"Well considering that it's already eight thirty I do not think that it will be seven this morning. Honestly Jeremy I am part super computer, not time machine."

Ignoring the sass behind that statement Jeremy followed him up the stairs and to their front door, not sure just what he should say as Will started to put on his shoes.

"But that's... I mean what are you going to be up to? That's such a long time to be gone and not know where you are and..."

"You said," Will interrupted, standing back up once he was finished and crossing his arms over his chest, "That you would like to know when I leave, which I am being very agreeable with, but I do not have to tell you just where I am going."

Jeremy fell silent, his face pinching up as the words washed over him.

He supposed that Will dd have a point, and he should have been glad that he got him to do at least this much but...

"What about our training this morning?" He asked, shocked to hear just how little his voice sounded, even to his own ears.

Will on the other hand shrugged, his hand reaching for the door as he continued to stare up at Jeremy. "Just make sure you are ready to do it when I get back."

Before he could think of anything that he could say to that Will was gone. Leaving him standing in the doorway with no other information. He didn't want to complain, because this really was a big step for them but... Will had never left this early in the morning before, he normally waited until Jeremy had left for school. Was he still angry? Was this just him getting Jeremy back for hanging out with Brooke so much yesterday? Was the training after school to make sure that he didn't spend as much time with her after he was finished his classes?

Not knowing what else he could do but deciding that standing and staring at the door wasn't going to be much of a help either, Jeremy turned around and headed back to the table.

No one was really talking, their voices more hushed than Jeremy could ever recall them being as he took his spot back, mindless picking away at his food as he tried to think of just what to do next.

(***)

"I just don't get it." Jeremy groaned, face planting the lunch table as he did so. "I mean I'm trying everything that I can think of and I'm still not getting anywhere."

Brooke hummed sympathetically, her little hand patting Jeremy on his shoulder as he spoke. Letting out a long sigh he just allowed himself to continue sulking, not moving from his current position as he tried to think of just what else there was to do.

"Well, there's not much that you can do if they don't want to open up. I guess you just have to wait." She said, Jeremy shifting his head enough to be able to peer up at her face as she spoke. "I mean, maybe he's just a really privet guy?"

Well, he supposed that she might have had a point there. Will had been living on his own for who knows how long after all, and it's not as if he had a stellar record with anyone with them trying to hunt him down and kill him. Maybe this was just some type of safety thing on his part.

It still sucked ass though.

Dragging himself off of the table he dropped his chin in the palm of his hand, looking out over their busy cafeteria for a long moment before he turned back to her.

"I mean, I think that we're making a little bit of progress. He told me he was going out and when he would be back this morning." He said, his voice slightly muffled by his hand over his mouth.

"Sounds like a start to me." Brooke said, a small smile coming to her lips as he took a sip out of her juice box.

Jeremy tried to smile at her, but it came out halfhearted at best. Seeing that it wasn't really helping his mood she placed her drink down, reaching across the table and gently lowering her hand over his. He could feel the warmth of her slowly spreading from her fingertips to his hand and up his arm, his face flushing slightly as she smiled softly up at him.

"It's going to be okay Jeremy." She said, her eyes bright as she spoke. "Relationships are hard, and you can't always expect them to be smooth sailing. At least you're willing to work thought it. Not a lot of people will for the ones that they care about."

Wait...What?

Relationship?

Before he could correct her obviously very wrong image of just what he and Will were, another body plopped down on the seat right next to him.

Startled he jumped, his head whipping around to see just who it was and his mouth falling open upon seeing Jenna sitting there, a giant smirk over her face as she placed her lunch tray down.

"What are you two crazy kids talking about?"

He snapped his mouth shut, not willing to say a word to her as he could feel every muscle in his body tighten. He didn't care that Will had said that she was okay, that she was just here to learn like she had said, there was something about her he just didn't trust.

"Just relationships." Brooke chirped, Jeremy's head snapping around to face her. "Jeremy..."

"Doesn't want to talk about it anymore." He quickly interrupted.

He felt bad when Brooke turned to look at him, a small frown coming to her lips as her mouth opened as if she was going to say something. When Jeremy shot her a pleading look she seemed to think better of it, sealing her mouth shut as she once again picked up her juice box.

He could feel Jenna's gaze burning into his side as if it was about to melt the flesh from his bones and for a long moment he couldn't help but wonder if maybe that was just a skill that all squips had. Choosing to ignore it however he turned his full attention to the girl at his side, forcing a smile to his lips as he looked at her.

"And just what have you been up to today?" He couldn't help the bitter undertone of his words or the accusation behind them. For her part she only narrowed her gaze at him, a small frown pulling at her lips before the look was gone, quickly replaced by a happy little grin.

"Oh you know. Just catching the four one one on the party situation around here. I've got to find out where it's all going down or some people are going to be very upset. They look to me to give them information you know." Something about the way that she spoke, about the way that her voice dropped slightly as she levelled a look at Jeremy left him with a feeling she wasn't just talking about parties. "People depend on me."

Was she talking about that other group? Oh shit! Had she lied to Will? Had Jeremy walked right into her trap by being on his own? Was she going to kidnap him and using him to lure Will in? Was she going to get Rich and Jake too!?

While his thoughts run around in his head like a whirlwind, he found that he couldn't speak. His lips snapped shut, worried that if he tried to say anything he would some how just make the situation worse. He was going to have to talk to Will. He needed him to know that something might have been up with this Jenna chick.

Tuning out of the conversation completely, Jeremy dropped his shields.

Will!

Every second that ticked by was worse than the last. He could feel his body getting hotter, feel the sweat collecting at the base of his neck and sliding down his forehead. Could feel the dread pooling up in his stomach as he waited.

Shit. Had she already gotten to them? Was she just here to get Jeremy and finish the job? Was she just cleaning up the 'mess'? Taking out anyone who knew about their existence?

Will!

What!?

The anxiety fled from him at the sound of the others voice. Thank god.

Why didn't you answer?

I am not at your beck and call Jeremy.

Jeremy scowled but didn't respond. He supposed that in a way, Will was right.

Jenna's here.

There connection was silent for a long while, and Jeremy briefly wondered if Will was even listening to him. Just what on earth was he doing that was so important anyways? Just what was it that he did all day that meant that he couldn't be here?

Just as he was about to give up, as he was about to snap and tell the other to forget it, Jeremy jumped again when someone sat down on his other side. He felt his mouth falling open at the sight of Will, dressed up in a bold black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a fresh white cotton shirt underneath and dark jeans that hugged his legs in just the right places. Jeremy found his face flushing quickly, but found somewhere else to look when Will scowled at him in warning.

He didn't have a tray to set down, but Jeremy had spotted a stack of heavy and freshly purchased books sitting next to him as Will turned his attentions to the girls at the table.

"Ladies, it is wonderful to see you."

Kiss ass.

When Will kicked him from underneath the table he yelped, and than tossed the shield back up. Only after screaming loud enough to make Will hiss in pain of course. The two glared at each other, neither wanting to be the first one to break it but both turning away when Jenna cleared her throat.

"So nice of you to join us Will. I didn't think that you would be here."

Ya, and neither did Jeremy. He had no idea just what it was Will was doing here. There was no way that he decided to start taking classes so quickly, and it couldn't have been because he decided to follow Jeremy to school to see just what it was he was up to. He could handle Will trying to control his life when he was at home... at least he could some what, but there was no way that he was going to stand for Will to try and control what he did and who he talked to when he was at school too. There was a line and he was going to make sure that Will didn't cross it.

"Well I meant to be in sooner, but they had a mix up with my paperwork."

Liar. What on earth was he really doing here? Will probably hadn't even heard of this school until he was running away from the crazy lady last week. There was no way that the school had mixed up any paperwork because there was none to be mixed up. But he was some type of super computer. No doubt he had something cooked up to make them think that it was their fault.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be home until seven." Jeremy hissed, keeping his voice at least somewhat low as he turned his head towards the other.

Will frowned, shifting just enough to hide the books that he had from Jeremy's view.

"My last class finishes at seven."

Jeremy found that he couldn't do anything other than look at him. There was no way that this was something that Will had thought of to do. This must have just been some type of trick or something. Some way for him to better keep an eye on Jeremy by... but yet... none of Jeremy's classes ended at seven. His latest today was done by five. If Will was really trying to keep more of an eye on him than he would have taken all the same classes as Jeremy.

So maybe he was here to learn. Maybe Jeremy had really gotten through to him this morning.

"It's nice to see you again Will." Brooke said, her voice perky and bright as she set her juice box down again. "What classes are you taking?"

At her question Will snapped his gaze over to her, and Jeremy's heart went out to her when she winced at the bright blue gaze that locked in on her.

"None of your..."

"He's privet!" Jeremy quickly butted in, saving Will from biting the girl's head off as he held his arm out across the others chest just in case he thought of trying to jump over the table to get to her. He wasn't sure just how severe this whole 'possessive behaviour human host squip' thing was, but it must have been hard for Will to be surrounded by so many people. No doubt if he did say something rude to Brooke he would end up regretting it later. Forcing a smile over his face he moved his arm from in front of Will to behind him, resting it over his shoulders and hoping that it was enough contact to keep him calm in this crowded environment. "You know how, um... privet some people are? They don't like to talk about anything."

Oh god, even his chuckle sounded forced. There was no way that anyone was going to buy that.

Jenna certainly didn't and Jeremy could see by the look on her face she wasn't at all impressed with his fibbing skills. Brooke on the other hand stared at him, blinking slowly as she thought back on what they had just been talking about before the other two had showed up. Suddenly she smiled, nodding her head to Jeremy in understanding before she picked up her sandwich and turned her attention to Will.

"I like your clothes. They look good on you."

Jeremy let out a deep breath at the subject change, his hold on Will lightening slightly as he could feel Will relax at the new topic.

"Thank you. I was just going to steal more of Jeremy's clothes but I am afraid to say that he has absolutely no taste."

A small 'erk' slipped passed Jeremy's lips, his smile faltering as Jenna snickered and Brooke giggled. He had no idea just why Will would tell them that, but when he stole a glance at the other from the corner of his eye he didn't miss the smirk that Will tossed back.

The little prick was teasing him. What an asshole.

Jeremy was going to get him back for that one later.

And also ask him about just what he thought he was doing here.

"I thought that the hood you were wearing at the exhibit was to big to be yours." Brooke said, drawing both of their attention back to her. "It's so cute that you guys do that. I've always wanted a partner I could steal clothing from."

Oh ya. He was going to have to set Brooke straight for that...

"Actually..."

"I am sure that you will have your moment when the next project comes up." Will answered, smiling at the slightly confused look that came over her features.

Jeremy on the other hand had to stop his face from meeting the table again. Just how could it be that Will was some sort of super smart super computer but had no idea just what it was that she was talking about?

For her credit Brooke seemed to be able to brush off the strange comment, placing her elbows on the table as she leaned over to get just a little bit closer.

"So how long have you two been seeing each other for?"

Will tilted his head to the side for a moment, as if he didn't full understand just what she was asking before it clicked. Sadly he had an answer for her seconds before Jeremy could interrupt.

"A little over a week now." He said, and this time Jeremy couldn't stop his hand from coming up and slapping to his forehead.

Did Will even know what he was talking about?

From his other side Jenna continued to snicker, picking away at her own food as she smirked at Jeremy. Out of no where she pulled out her phone, typing away on it before setting it back down and continuing on. Narrowing his gaze at her Jeremy couldn't help but wonder just what it was she was up to. Will might have trusted her, but that didn't mean that Jeremy had to.

"Oh so this is a new thing hm?" Brooke said, he attention more on Will now as Jeremy continued to stay quiet throughout the conversation. "Well, I think that you two make an adorable couple."

It was only once that word passed her lips that Jeremy could feel Will tensing up underneath his arm. Obviously he was starting to get just what it was that she was implying.

"Wait I..." But before he could get anymore words out Brooke was already moving on to the next thing, reminded of a test that she was going to have in the following class at the sight of one of the textbooks being held by another student who walked by.

Neither of them could say so much as two words to her before she was hopping out of her seat and throwing her bag over her shoulders.

"Sorry guys but I really have to go! I'll see you next class Jeremy!"

"Um, okay bye!" He barely got the words out before she was out of ear shot, sinking in his chair as he watched her disappear through the throngs of students.

He'd really been hoping on talking to her a little bit more but it seemed that for today that was all they were going to have.

"She does not think that we are..?"

"Dating?" Jenna grinned, leaning around Jeremy to grin at Will with a mouthful of teeth. "Oh ya buddy. And don't worry, by the end of the day I'll make sure that everyone knows that Jeremy Heere is taken."

"Hey wait a minute..."

"Why would I care about Jeremy's relationship statues?" Will interrupted, completely leaving Jeremy out of the conversation as he all but leaned over Jeremy lap in order to hiss in Jenna's face.

The twist of her lips only grew, her thin brows narrowing over bright brown eyes that Jeremy could have sworn flashed a blinding shade of blue for a few mere seconds.

"It's simple really Will." She said, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin over them. "Jeremy's not that bad looking, and he's sweet and geeky. Someones bound to pick that up. If you've already laid claim to him than you don't have to worry about anyone sweeping up your host."

"I'm right here you know? Fully capable of making my own choices."

Again he was ignored, Will barely even tossing him a glance before his full attention was once again on the squip before him.

"It does sound like it would be much less of a bother." Will agreed and Jeremy could feel the heat of his anger rising to his face. So Will was going to take over his personal life too now? Just fucking gre... "But I am afraid that it is not my choice to make."

Jeremy blinked. He couldn't find it in himself to say anything as Will sat back, ignoring both of their shocked faces as he turned slightly and scooped up his books.

"Will..."

"You were right Jeremy." Will turned back to him, still holding his books to his side and out of Jeremy's line of sight as he spoke. "I am afraid that this... dependency is new to me, and I will admit that I am not use to thinking of other people and how they factor into certain situations nor do I normally find it in myself to care about their emotions on the matter but... I am aware of just how important freedom can be to a person. I will try to keep out of your life as much as I am able. Do not worry about me imposing on it."

"But..."

"My class is starting soon." Will muttered, his gaze not lifting to see the look across Jeremy's face. "I will see you later tonight. Just for a quick hour of training. Than you are free to leave and do what you like."

"Will..."

But Will didn't stay to hear him, and as he watched him walked away Jeremy couldn't help but wonder if that was for the best. He didn't even know what he was planning to say if Will had stayed back.

Sorry? Thanks? Okay than?

Just what would have been appropriate in this situation?

And ya, he'd wanted Will to back off a little bit, but that didn't mean that he wanted him completely out of his life either.

"Yikes. Poor guy. And running on such low energy too. He must be exhausted."

Finally remembering that there was still one other person at the table he turned back to face the dark haired girl. His brows rose, wondering just what she was talking about as she tapped her sharp nails against the table, her eyes still following after Will as her lips pinched together.

"Low on energy? He hasn't even done anything today. I haven't done anything today. His energy levels should be off the charts."

Jenna scoffed, turning her attention back to her food with a shake of her head.

"Oh babyboy, you know nothing about squips."

Shoulders rolling forward Jeremy slouched in his seat, turning his head to look at the doors Will had disappeared behind as he gave a humourless scoff to himself.

"Ya, no kidding."


	18. Chapter 18

Jeremy tried not to glance at the clock every five minutes, but it seemed that he just couldn't help himself.

He'd tried to distract himself in every way. He did his homework, offered to help Rich with his homework, played a game with Micheal, asked to help Jake make dinner before he was kicked out for burning the food, and even allowed Christine to experiment with a new make up look she was thinking about. But no matter what he did, he still couldn't stop himself from glancing over at the clock.

It was as if he was possessed, or like he was some type of addict. Without fail he would try to do something or think of something but his mind would stray right back to the stupid glowing numbers on the oven, or the bold black numbers on the clock above their tv, or the tiny tick marks that littered his watch.

He couldn't help it though.

Because it was nearing nine o'clock.

And Will had said he would be back by 7.

Letting out a long sigh he dropped his book on the coffee table, kicking his feet up on their small couch as he once again turned his attention to the clock. There was no point in him trying to hide it or deny it. Everyone knew that he was waiting, but Rich had assured him that Will was going to be fine. He was just running a little late was all. And honestly Jeremy should have maybe been happy to have some more free time but...

Just what was Will doing that was taking so long? There weren't any classes at their school that ran this late. Did he get invited to a party? Did he join a club? Was he studying at the library?

He wanted to reach out, to drop the shields of his mind and check in on the guy but... he knew that Will wouldn't like that. Hell, Jeremy would have hated it if Will did that to him continuously. So he kept his shields up and kept his eyes on the clock. There wasn't anything else for him to do after all.

"Would you please stop sighing." Rich grumbled, Jeremy unable to tear his gaze away from the clock to stare at the group playing goldfish on the kitchen table. "That's like... the sixteenth time in the last five minutes."

Had he been sighing? He hadn't really noticed. Or at least he hadn't noticed that he was doing it that often.

"And stop wiggling your feet. I can hear your toes hitting the couch and it's driving me nuts."

"Go easy on him Rich." Micheal said as Jeremy tossed a quick look down at his feet. Oh man, he really had been hitting the couch the whole time. "He's just worried about Will."

"Will's fine Jeremy." Jake tossed in as Jeremy's gaze roamed back to the clock without him realizing it. "He came to me and Rich's swim practice to tell us to tell you that he would be late."

"I know." His words were slightly muffled by his hand, but he couldn't find it in himself to pull it away as he glared at the clock. As if that would make it any faster. "I just didn't think it would be this late."

"Well I'm sure he'll be back soon." Christine said, her voice light and happy. Obviously she was winning the game. "Don't worry about him Jerry. Will's a tough guy, he'll be okay."

"I know."

This wasn't making him feel any better, if anything it was only making him feel that much worse. That girl, Jenna, she had said that Will was basically running on empty. Although Jeremy had no idea just what that meant or what he was doing wrong to be depriving Will so much, he still didn't know just how long Will would last against an opponent right now. He'd thought so himself that Will was looking a little tired. That he was looking a little run down. What if he got mugged? Or if someone followed after him to some dark shady alley? What if he ran out of power and was just laying on the street somewhere? Was that even a thing? Could squips become immobile if they ran out of energy completely?

Just as his thoughts were really starting to run away from him Jeremy, heard a scratching sound at the front door.

Before anyone else could blink he vaulted from his place on the couch and threw himself to the door. As the person on the other side continued to struggle with the lock he unlocked it himself, just about pulling the door off its hinges as he opened it.

Will blinked blearily at the place where the lock had been. His movements slow and lethargic as he dropped his arm back to his side. Neither of them said anything, Jeremy's eyes scanning him from top to bottom over and over again in quick successions, checking to see if there was anything wrong with him or if he had somehow been hurt. Will on the other hand just continued to stand there, a weird sort of haze in his gaze as he finally looked up to meet Jeremy's eyes.

Jeremy wasn't really sure what happened next. One moment he was staring at Will, and the next Will was pressed up against him, his arms wrapped around him strongly and his head nestled under Jeremy's chin. The force of the sudden movement was nearly enough to knock Jeremy right off his feet, but he managed to stay standing, one hand shooting out to grab at the wall and the other wrapping around Will to make sure he didn't fall. After that though, he wasn't really sure just what to do. He wasn't sure just what Will was doing.

"Uh... Will?"

He could hear Will mumbling something against his throat, but the words sounded muffled and slurred, and the only thing it managed to do was send a little shock down his spine at the hot air that hit his throat.

"Aw, did you tucker him out Jeremy?"

Rich popped out of nowhere, his head coming around Jeremy's side as he stared at Will. "Poor guy is completely wiped out. When was the last time you let him charge?"

What? Charge? Why would Will need to charge? They hadn't done anything, there wasn't anyone to fight. Will shouldn't have been using any energy.

"What are you talking about?" All he got in response for his question was a look. Rich just stared at him, his gaze dropping from Jeremy to Will and back again before he slowly turned his head to stare at the others at the table.

"Will... Jake... nobody told you?"

Growing annoyed with whatever it was that he apparently didn't know, Jeremy gave a hard roll of his eyes.

"Didn't tell me what?"

Man, these guys really should have thought about making a pamphlet for themselves. Or better yet, an entire manual. 'How to Take Care of Your Squips 101' would have been so useful to him. He would have read it all in one go.

Instead of answering him right away Rich turned his attention back to Will, reaching out and brushing some of his bangs away from his eyes in order to see something that Jeremy apparently didn't know enough about to pick up on.

"Okay, um, first we should get him back to your guys' room." He muttered, for some odd reason his voice a little lower than what it had been just a few moments ago. "I'll explain it there."

Okay... He supposed that made sense. If Rich was saying that Will just needed to charge then he no doubt just needed to sleep. Jeremy could put him to bed and then have Rich explain it. At the very least it would give him his personal space back.

"Fine. Just, give me a moment."

He had to shift around a little awkwardly, but he managed to lean one half of his body a little lower, placing his hand behind Will's knees and carefully scooping him up until he was able to hold him tightly against him. There was no way that he would be able to carry Will the other way, and the guy was like dead weight in his arms. Whatever was going on with him, Jeremy was glad that he didn't seem to be able to protest to this. He had a feeling that if Will was in his right mind right now he would have snapped at Jeremy, demanded to be placed down, and then zap him for his troubles. As it was however Will just continued to cuddle close to him, his lips still forming words that Jeremy couldn't make out for the life of him as he slowly followed after Rich to the bottom floor.

His face went red hot when the whole room fell silent, and he glared when Micheal quickly snapped a picture of them with his cell phone. Christine silently cooed, adoring Will's mindless snuggling as Jake arched a brow at them.

"He okay?"

"He's fine." Rich answered before Jeremy could get a word in. "Just a little bit tuckered out is all."

Deciding that maybe it was better to keep his mouth shut, it's not like he had any better insight into the situation anyways, Jeremy followed Rich into their room.

As he went to lay Will down, just giving him his own bed for the night, he didn't want to move Will around to much and waste time with the air mattress, Rich closed the door behind them. When Jeremy went to pull away Will growled, his hold on Jeremy tightening as he tugged him back down. Not ready for the sudden pull he just about landed on top of the other, managing to catch himself last minute as he placed his hands on either side of Will, one just over his shoulder and the other next to his hip while he tried to think of just how to get out of the position he was in.

"Uh, Rich, some help?"

He tried his best to look at the other male from over his shoulder, but only managed to catch a glimpse of him before Will had managed to pull him down.

Wow, sometimes he forgot just how strong Will was. This guy would have an amazing future in wrestling or some type of fighting sport. He was like a super strong octopus, and the hold he had on Jeremy was nearly enough to crush his bones.

Worst of all though, he was completely stuck now.

Will had him on his back, and comparing the guy to an octopus was no joke. His arms and legs were wrapped around Jeremy like a vice, his head resting just over Jeremy's heart as his random mumbles seemed to finally fall to a stop. Not sure just what he could do, or what he should be doing, he tossed a look over to Rich, keeping his hands far away from the one that was clinging to him.

"What do I do?"

But Rich was glaring at him, his arms crossed so tightly over his chest that Jeremy could see the veins in them. He had no idea just what he had managed to do to piss the guy off, but this was really the last thing that he wanted to deal with right now. He couldn't handle both a mad squip and a sleepy one.

"Have you and Will not spoken about this?" Rich questioned, coming to the edge of the bed as he glared down at Jeremy some more. "You know that if he burns out, he'll be in recovery mode for days. Maybe even a week."

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Jeremy admitted, carefully trying to detach himself from Will, but to no avail, those octopus limbs were staying apparently. "Will... doesn't really like to talk about squips. Well actually, I guess that's not true. He's told me that you guy can die if your host doesn't want anything to do with you. That you can change some of the chemical balances in their brains and hear their thoughts, Jake said that after the whole host... bonding thing, you guys get a little protective and that Jenna can find other squips like yourselves." As he listed off his points he counted them on his fingers. Rich nodded with each piece of information, but his scowl didn't ease up any.

"Well, that's some of the basic stuff." Rich mumbled, his anger fleeing him as he made himself comfortable on the edge of Jeremy's bed. "But you guys haven't spoken at all about energy sharing?"

"Do we have to? I mean, did you ever with Micheal? Did Jake with Christine?"

Just what made his and Will's situation so different? If this was something that was so important that it could leave them down and out then how could they have gone this far without letting the others know? Just what was energy sharing?

Rich tossed him a look that was both equally pity and snobby at the same time. Not knowing what else to say and not wanting to put himself into a deeper hole Jeremy didn't bother adding on.

"With us it's different." Rich said, "We're dating our hosts."

Jeremy just stared at him. He wasn't sure just why that would make their situation different from anyone else. So what it they were dating? Sure him and Will weren't but they lived in the same house and shared the same room. Surely there couldn't have been that much of a difference.

Seeing that he obviously wasn't understanding Rich gave out a long sigh, running his hand down his face before making a few gestures in the air.

"Okay so it's like this. Imagine that you're like an outlet alright? Well, Will can get energy just by being close to you or by making sure that you're well look after and have energy of your own that he can use, but now, because of the host bond, he can't get his own energy source from anything else. Well in order to get energy from an outlet, there has to be some sort of connection right? It's another reason why physical contact helps to keep us calm for the first few weeks after bonding and whatnot, it's giving us more energy. So if there's no physical connection, we're forced to live off of just a small amount of energy, but there's only so much and Will's been using a lot of it recently to help hide himself so he must have just reached his limit today." Rich explained, as he did so he reached over Jeremy and once again brushed some of Will's hair from his face, Jeremy finding himself a little shocked to see that Will's eyes were finally closed. "He's not going to let go of you until he fills at least half of his energy stalk back up."

"So, you never had any problem because you and Micheal are dating and are always cuddling and touching each other anyways?" At his question Rich nodded.

"Exactly. It's the same with Jake and Christine. But different physical contact gives different amounts of energy. For example, if you're just going with the basic stuff like what you're doing right now, it'll take at least three hours for him to reach his half way energy point. Six if you want a full charge and for just a normal day where he uses no energy he still will need at least an hour at the end of the day to get what he lost back to normal. That being said though the more physical you guys are the quicker the energy gets collected. Cuddles will take hours, but if you do something more... um, intimate let's say, it could take as little as a few minutes."

Not liking what he was implying Jeremy couldn't help the heat that came to his face as he quickly shook his head.

"I am not doing that with Will."

Although he was sure there was nothing wrong with Will in that sense that didn't mean that he wanted to sleep with the guy. Sure, Will was kind of cute when he wasn't being a complete asshole, but if Rich was saying that he had to chose between either sleeping with him or cuddling for hours on end, he would take the cuddling thank you very much. Besides, there was no way he was going to do that to Will, the guy didn't even like him that much. At the most Jeremy could say that he tolerated his presence.

But Rich didn't seem offended or shocked by his answer, just giving a shrug of his shoulders as if he had expected it and had already come up with a solution.

"Yeah, I kind of figured, but then you should just sleep together every night."

When Jeremy arched a brow Rich was quick to backtrack, his hands waving across himself as he quickly shook his head.

"I didn't mean in that way!" He squeaked, waving his hand now to the two of them. "I mean just like what you're doing right now. You know, just cuddle at night when you're sleeping together, then Will can keep his energy up and you won't have to worry about him crashing."

That seemed doable. Jeremy wasn't really fond of the idea but if it would help Will out then he supposed that he didn't mind. Besides, it would just mean that they would be sharing a bed, nothing more, and it would get rid of that stupid air mattress, and give him that space back so win-win in his books. But there was just a few things that were bothering him...

"How did Will, or just squips in general, not crash when they're on their own if they don't have a host to get energy from?"

"They just take it from somewhere else, like computers, buildings, lamp post, anywhere energy is stored really. It's just a glitch in our systems really that we can't continue to do that after we connect to a host. It was one of the things they were working on fixing on us at the lab before they cancelled the program."

"Okay..." Jeremy paused, wondering just how it was that he was supposed to ask his next question without Rich completely shutting him down. It seemed that neither Jake nor Will like to talk about squips much, or thought that he should be learning it from someone else. It was nice to have someone who was willing to give him information without it feeling like he was pulling teeth. He didn't want to lose that with Rich. "So... you said that Will's been hiding himself?"

"Well yeah." Rich just blinked at him as if the question had been beyond stupid. "I mean there's still that group of squips that's hunting down the remainder of other squips. Will's been keeping them occupied for years, but now that he's got a host he can't just up and move anymore so he had to get things set up to mislead them else where. He can't just drop off the face of the earth. This would be the first place they would look and he wouldn't want any of you guys to get hurt. What do you think he's been doing all day this past week?"

Honestly? Jeremy wasn't sure. It definitely hadn't been that though. He'd thought that maybe Will just kind of wandered around, he had no idea that he was using up his energy to trick the very people that were coming after him. But then why hadn't Will said anything?

"Man, seriously, do you guys just not talk?" Rich questioned, crossing his arms over his chest as he arched a brow at the two of them.

Not knowing what to say to that Jeremy just shrugged, or at least tried to, it was a little tough with Will laying on one side.

With a roll of his eyes Rich got back up to his feet. For a long moment, neither of them said anything, Jeremy staring down at the cuddling squip in his arms, and Rich placing his hands on his hips as he looked towards the other end of the door.

"I know that Will and Jake don't really like to talk about this kind of stuff." At his words Jeremy found his attention being drawn back to the blond. "So, if you ever have any questions, just come to me okay? At the very least I don't make it feel like trying to crowbar the answers out of a bank vault."

He couldn't help the small chuckle that slipped passed his lips at the other's words. It seemed that he was at least finally getting somewhere with Rich if nothing else and he offered a small, genuine smile to him in return.

"Thanks Rich, that means a lot to me."

Rich seemed stunned, not knowing what to say as he quickly snapped his attention back to the door, his face going pink in embarrassment as he forced a scoff pass his lips.

"Whatever, tallass. I'll see you tomorrow."

Still smiling, Jeremy gave a soft shake of his head, turning his attention back to the one in his arms as he gently ran his fingers through Will's hair while Rich closed the door.

Honestly it was making so much more sense now why Will always seemed to be in a bad mood and quick to snap. Not only was he being defensive over his host, but the poor guy was no doubt stressed beyond belief and exhausted as all living hell while at the same time trying to play it cool and act tough. It was actually rather endearing, and it almost made Jeremy feel bad for the fights he had started. Almost though. He still thought he had some pretty good points from past arguments.

Not seeing the point of trying to stay awake any longer Jeremy made himself comfortable, wiggling around a little bit until he managed to get the blanket over the both of them.

He fell asleep to the quiet sounds of Will's breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way just because I haven't done this yet I wanted to give a shout out to my amazing Beta reader! :D I can't give any names and they don't have an account on this site that I know of but thanks for helping me out and making this story better bud! :D


	19. Chapter 19

It was the slight movement next to his side that woke Jeremy the following morning. His body seemed to wake before his brain did, his limbs stretching out and trapping the squirming mass, pulling it back to him and cuddling into it. The solid warmth in his arms squeaked, a pair of hands pushing back against Jeremy to place space between them.

"Jeremy, let me go."

That was odd. That sounded like Will's voice. But Will didn't sleep in his bed. He slept on the air mattress on the...

The conversation that he had with Rich last night slammed into him like a fright train. Will clinging to him, laying down in bed with him, learning about energy sharing or whatever it was that Rich had called it.

Finally opening his eyes Jeremy could feel his stomach dropping to his heels at the bright-blue glare that greeted him.

"Uh... good morning?"

Will didn't seem amused, shoving against Jeremy again to regain his personal space. Jeremy only all too happily let him go. Neither of them said anything as Will rolled out of the bed, both of them no doubt feeling just a little bit mortified over what had happened. Jeremy had been hoping that he would have been able to get up before Will did, had hoped he'd be able to get out of the room or at least the bed before Will woke. In the same breath however it was no doubt better that it had happened this way. This was something that they were going to have to talk about.

"So..."

"No."

Jeremy blinked. He hadn't even spoken two words yet. How could Will be shutting him down already?

"Will..."

"I am not talking about this."

"Yes, you are." Before Will could get around him, Jeremy reached out and grabbed a hold of his wrist. With a single sharp tug he managed to yank him back down to the bed.

Will pulled his hand away, but he didn't move, glaring at Jeremy as he crossed his arms over his chest. Refusing to give into his mood right now Jeremy just glared back.

"You can burn out."

His words were greeted with an eye roll.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it does not matter. I am perfectly fine with..."

"Will." He stopped him before he could say anymore, placing his hand on his shoulder and catching his attention. "I don't want you to get to the point that you were last night. Please, this is something that we need to talk about. If you need... physical contact in order to recharge, I don't mind."

He could see Will's face flush, and Jeremy couldn't help but wonder just how uncomfortable Will was with all of this. Did he even have any type of experience with the others before? Actually... Rich and Jake were kind of awkward when they met them in high school, and Will had been on his own for years. He always tensed whenever Jeremy touched him, and it was only after he realized that it was Jeremy that he would relax.

"Listen... Will, you... well, we have to... in order for you to... you know, but, we can keep it minimal." Now Jeremy's face was warm, no doubt bright-red as he fumbled through the rest of the sentence. "Rich said that we didn't have to... um, you know, but that if we sleep at night, cuddled together then you should be okay. And you know it would... um, well, that is, it doesn't have to mean anything, it would just be to make sure that you're okay and fully charged every morning so that you don't... well, blackout or whatever it was that you did last night. But..."

"Stop your insistent muttering Jeremy." Will snapped, raising his hand and getting instantly silent. "It is very annoying."

Although he said that, Jeremy could still see that his face was just as red as his own. This was not a conversation that either of them wanted to have, but there was no way that Jeremy was going to risk Will shutting down in the middle of class or something like that. And while he'd been fine just a few minutes ago to talk about the subject, he found his tongue becoming more tied as he couldn't help but wonder just what type of experience Will had, had with others before.

He felt bad. He felt terrible. Will shouldn't have to do anything that he was uncomfortable with, but there was no way that Jeremy could just let him wander around without doing something. The little touches he'd been giving Will here and there obviously weren't working. Will was going to need more, and Jeremy needed to know just what it was that he wanted.

So, taking in a deep breath, he pushed forward, even though he knew that Will hated this just as much as he did.

"If you don't want to cuddle for hours on end I guess we could..." Rich had said that more intimate contact would help charge him quicker, so maybe kissing would get the job done in a few minutes, or at the very least about half an hour. "um... make out or something?" Even his own voice sounded small to his ears, his eyes no longer able to hold Will's intense stare as his mind conjured up the imagine of just what he was saying without his permission.

He couldn't help but wonder just what kind of kisser Will would be. If his hands would roam, if he would be the one to lead or if he would allow Jeremy to do so, what kind of noises he would make. Once the thought had crossed his mind he found that he couldn't push it out, his face only growing darker and darker the further his mind ran with it.

Nope. Nope. No. This is where he was going to draw the line. He couldn't think of Will that way. He didn't want to.

Will on the other hand remained silent, thinking over Jeremy's words while the slightly taller male tried to rein in his roaming thoughts.

"It would mean a lot less contact." Will muttered, his words pulling Jeremy's gaze back to him even as he peered at him through his bangs. "But honestly I like the idea of sleeping next to one another better. We are both unconscious for most of the time and I prefer you that way."

Um... Ouch?

Although Jeremy supposed he couldn't blame the guy. It would be a lot less awkward than anything else that Rich had told him.

Glad that they had come to some sort of agreement with that, Jeremy gave a nod of his head.

"Okay, great."

Not even a second later however, he turned to Will again.

"You've been hiding yourself all week?"

When Will narrowed his gaze at him, Jeremy decided to ease up his own expression, if only slightly. There was no way he was going to get anything from the guy if he started being too confrontational.

"Richard really should learn to keep his mouth closed." Will muttered, getting up from the bed once more. This time Jeremy stood with him. "It is nothing for you to worry over Jeremy," Will continued, moving over to Jeremy's closet and... okay wow, how long had all that stuff been there for? Bewildered, he watched as Will pulled out an outfit for the day from a dresser that he had never seen before. "It is over and done with. I have made sure to hide myself well. You do not need to concern yourself with it."

"I wasn't... I," without thinking about it, he reached out, his hand gently resting on Will's shoulders and drawing his bright-blue eyes towards him. "I'm concerned about you." He admitted. "I just... you were out there doing that all by yourself and it just... I don't know. It worries me okay? I mean what if they had found you and took you away or hurt you or..." He couldn't bring himself to finish, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he gave a shake of his head to help clear his thoughts. "I'm just glad that you're alright."

His words seemed to leave Will dumbstruck, not able to come up with anything to say in return as his gaze dropped to the floor before he snapped his attention back to the dresser.

"I have to change."

Startled by the complete change in topic, Jeremy just stared at him for a long moment. He didn't see why Will would bother telling him that, he had never had a problem with changing in front of Jeremy before. Granted that was when Jeremy was always working on something else and didn't have his full attention on the guy and there was that awkward conversation they had just a second ago. Maybe this was just Will being self-conscious. Either way, Jeremy could understand it. He didn't like changing in front of others either.

With a nod of his head he didn't say a word, leaving the room and closing the door softly behind him. With a long sigh, he dropped himself carefully against the door, his head tilted up as he stared mindlessly at the ceiling. He had a feeling that no matter what he did, these conversations with Will would never get any easier.

Just why was the guy so hard to talk to?

"So how'd it go?"

Looking back down he was shocked to see Rich sitting at the couch. He had one of Micheal's game manuals in his hands, but his attention was fully on Jeremy now. It was a surprise to see him up so early, especially before the others for once. Rich had become quite the morning person since Will had arrived and Jeremy couldn't help the little bit of himself that found that somewhat adorable.

Pushing himself away from the door, he gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"About as well as you would expect. Will wasn't happy that you said anything but thanks for telling me anyway."

"Yeah, I'll deal with Will, don't worry about that. They should know that someone needed to tell you about this stuff though. I mean, it's not like you can figure it out on your own."

Not sure if he was being insulted or if Rich was just being bluntly honest, Jeremy gave him a strained sort of smile. Moving away from the door, he hesitated for a moment before he sat next to Rich.

The shorter of the two had to shift, Jeremy's added weight sinking them against each other unwillingly before they managed to space themselves out. He didn't mind being squished together with basically anybody else in the house but he and Rich had an understanding with one another that they liked their personal space where the other was concerned.

Still, Jeremy couldn't help the small smile that kept creeping up his lips no matter how hard he tried to force it down. He couldn't believe it. He'd been wishing for a 101 squip manual, and now he had Rich. A walking talking encyclopedia that he could answer questions whenever he wanted to.

Obviously his grinning was starting to get to Rich though. The blond slowly shifting further and further away until there was absolutely no where left for him to move to.

"Dude, what is wrong with you?"

Not sure how to say it without either sounding like an asshole or just super strange, Jeremy just gave another shrug of his shoulders.

"Nothing I just... you know, thanks."

"You've already thanked me." Rich muttered, his face burning a little as his eyes darted away, unable to continue looking into Jeremy's gaze anymore.

"I know." Jeremy admitted with a nod of his head. "It's just... I know that you doing this goes against whatever weird thing that Jake and Will have going on but I appreciate it a lot."

Rich scoffed, tossing the book onto the coffee table as he got to his feet. Crossing his arms behind his head he seemed content on ignoring Jeremy as he made his way towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

His smile didn't waver any, he could hear the embarrassment that his genuine words had brought to the boy. Rich just didn't know how to take a complement from anyone other than Micheal, and even then he was still a little awkward about it.

As Rich walked towards the kitchen, Will emerged from behind the door. His gaze slowly shifted from Rich to Jeremy and back again before they finally settled on Jeremy.

"The room is free now if you wish to use it."

Not seeing any point in arguing, Jeremy rocked himself back to his feet. Shooting a somewhat sheepish smile at Will as he passed by him, giving a pat to the boy's shoulder as he did so. It couldn't hurt after all to be a little bit more physical with the other. Especially if that's how he got his energy.

And who knew? Maybe today was going to be a little bit easier.


	20. Chapter 20

"And three, two, one..."

"Richard Goranski!"

Rich couldn't stop the smirk from coming to his face as he leaned back against the tree, taking a sip from his juice box as he watched Will approach him from the corner of his eye.

"Sup widdle Will?"

Will scowled, his face flushing in embarrassment at the nickname as he dropped to his knees next to Rich's side.

All in all he was actually kind of impressed that Will had managed to wait this long to call him out. He'd thought that the guy would have snapped sooner, either doing so at the house the second that Jeremy had ducked back into his room, or would drag him out of class. But Will had been patient, sending nothing more than mild death glares in Rich's direction until their lunch break finally came around. Rich didn't mind though, he knew that this was bound to happen the second that he told Jeremy what was going on. It was okay though, he could handle Will quite well when he was emotionally freaking out.

"What on earth were you thinking? I did not want Jeremy to know about that part of the deal." Will hissed, crossing his arms tightly over his chest as he moved his legs from underneath him until he was sitting on his butt, his legs crossed before him.

With a careless shrug of his shoulders Rich offered out his juice box, moving on to the next part of his lunch when Will snatched it from him and huffily drank the rest.

"You basically passed out in his arms after clinging to him the second you walked through the door. He knew that something was up. Besides, the poor guy was worried about you. If you ever wondered why it is you guys fight so much maybe you shouldn't keep so much from him. Communication bro, it's the key to any healthy relationship." Rich tasked, jerking away a little when the now empty juice box hit his chest.

"We do not have a relationship." Will snapped, Rich arched a brow at him as he chomped down on an apple.

"But you want one." He said, speaking through his mouthful as Will's face pinched up in disgust at his lack of manners.

"No I do not." Will huffed, snatching the apple from him seconds later. "And finish chewing your food before you speak, it is rude to talk with ones mouth full."

"I bet you wish you had a mouthful of..." Before he could finish Will slapped his hand over his mouth, cutting off the words but the red flame over his features showed that he knew where Rich was heading with it.

Chuckling slightly at his best friend Rich carefully removed his hand, finally swallowing what he had as he held out his hand for the apple.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop teasing." He sighed, his smirk not falling from his lips but calming down its tone.

Will didn't say anything, shifting until he was sitting against the tree next to Rich's side. Their bodies were so close that Rich could feel the warmth of the one next to him, and he couldn't help but smile, his mind wandering back to a time when he and Will would cuddle close to one another, their only source of warmth and protection from the world when they were too little and weak to take it on.

It had been over a week since Will had finally shown up in their lives again and Rich was still having a hard time believing it. There had been so many years, so many countless days that he had been left to wonder if Will had managed to make it out. If he had been okay out there on his own. If he had been caught minutes after he had allowed Jake and him to slip away and move ahead without him. It had been the worst mistake of his life to move on without taking Will with them, even if he knew that had they not split up there would have been no way that any of them would have made it out. Still, he'd always wished that Will could have gone with them. That they didn't have to spend the years apart from one another left to wonder and wait.

He'd honestly never thought that he would see the guy again, and when he showed up at the house, when Rich found out that Jeremy was his host and that Will would be sticking around, although it was selfish he found himself rejoicing at it. Even when he'd had the fleeting fear that maybe Will had changed over the years, the second that they were left alone everything just clicked right back into place as if they had never left one another side.

"I..." Will cut himself off before he could finish, gritting his teeth as if what he was trying to say wasn't making enough sense for him to spit out. "This... I do not understand how this works." He sighed, Rich took another bite of his apple as Will ran his hand through his hair in aggravation. "This stupid... human part of me makes no sense and I just... I can not relate to what it wants."

"Look," Rich sighed, throwing his arm around Will's shoulders as he spoke, "you've been on your own for years Will, no one's really expecting you to be able to pick this up right off the get-go. I know that you've managed to survive this long by keeping to yourself and shutting others out but that's not how it's going to work anymore. And Jeremy needs to know this stuff, for your health as much as his. What if you were to burn out somewhere and we couldn't find you? Or you fell into a river and drowned or were standing next to a fire and burned to death or fell onto the train tracks and couldn't get back up before the train came..."

"These are some very gruesome worst-case scenarios."

Ignoring him Rich pressed on, "if you want to build a relationship with Jeremy you guys need to talk and communicate and you have to get out of your own head alright? Jeremy's not working for them. He's not out to try and figure out your weakness so that he can bring you down or make you submit to him or whatever, he's not going to use you as some type of war weapon or anything like that okay? He's probably not even aware that that's an option. The most he might make you do is try and play video games with him or hack into some weird porn site or something stupid like that."

Will's face twitched at that, his nose scrunching up in distaste as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his gaze looking out over the rest of the school grounds while other students milled about.

When the silence stretched between them Rich dropped his arm from the other's shoulders so he could snatch up his sandwich. Offering one half to Will he wondered just what he could do or what he could say to help.

Will had always been a stubborn one, and spending years on his own not knowing if he was going to be able to live the next few hours no doubt drained him right out and darkened his view of the world. But it wasn't all bad, and there were plenty of good people in it. Hell, Rich was getting married to the epitome of all that was good and right with the world. Even just thinking of Micheal made him smile, and he wished that Will would allow himself to feel the same way. But he also knew that Will had issues, they all did, but... when Will had allowed Rich into his mind, allowed him to see what had happened in all the years that they had been separated, Rich couldn't blame him from trying to shove a wall between himself and Jeremy.

As much as everyone might have thought that the going was slow-moving Rich knew that Will was trying as hard as he could. But as great as Will was, as strong as he was, not even he could ease years worth of fear and anxiety and abuse.

But at least he was trying.

As they each continued to munch on their half of the sandwich, Rich couldn't help the sly grin that slid over his lips as he shifted his gaze over to Will.

"So, how was sleeping with Jeremy anyways?"

The reaction was instant, Will choking on his food and his face going beat red in record time. Rich laughed outright, his howl enough to draw them a few stares but nothing more as Will quickly tried to get himself back under control.

"Richard that is..."

"Oh come on. I know you've been crushing on the guy since you've seen him." Rich teased, shoving his shoulder playfully against Will's. "I mean seriously, he's the only one you don't call by his full name." Rich pointed out, "That's your tell remember?"

Will's mouth snapped shut, his eyes blowing wide as the realization smacked him in the face. Rich allowed him a moment for it to dawn on him, calmly eating his sandwich while Will started having his mental breakdown.

"Oh shit."

It was so out of place for Will to swear that Rich took his turn choking on his food, his head snapping around to face his best friend as Will turned to look at him at the same time.

"I think you might be right."

"I've only been telling you this since day two." Rich said, holding in his sigh this time as Will brought his hands up to his face, trying to rub the intense blush away.

"But I... But this... I... How did this happen?"

"I don't know man." Rich supplied unhelpfully, throwing his hands up in a careless shrug. "I have no idea what you see in the guy really. I mean he's just so... well, Jeremy but hey, if that's your thing then..."

"I thought that you were just making fun of me due to him being my host but... I think you are right."

"I always am." Rich grinned, finding it oddly satisfying to watch his normally level-headed friend becoming flustered and tongue-tied over something as simple as a little crush.

"Jeremy- Jeremiah," He said, quickly correcting himself. "He... he does not like me." Will mumbled, his fingers nearly tearing the bread in his hands into pieces as he thought.

"Well..." Rich tried to think of something that he could say that might help the situation, but honestly he wasn't sure how far off Will was.

The two didn't have the best relationship at the moment, not to mention that Jeremy seemed to be into hanging out with the Brooke girl and she was sweet and pretty and Jeremy liked her so really what kind of chance did Will have but... In the same breath Rich had watched Jeremy with Will, had watched him worry about the guy and work to try and get to know him and understand him and to help him. He watched just last night as Jeremy freaked out wondering where Will was and then the gentle way in which he carried him back to their room when Will was too tired to do it on his own.

At the very least Jeremy's mind wasn't made up, but if Will kept being an asshole, for lack of softer or better term, he might just end up pushing any chance of a relationship with the guy right over a cliff.

"He doesn't hate you." He finally decided on, "and, you know if you're a little bit more... well, if you're nicer to the guy, he might start to like you too."

"Stupid human emotions." Will hissed, ungracefully shoving the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, too upset to care how undignified it looked. "Why are we cursed with these things?"

"Who knows." Rich shrugged. "But trust me, the first time you have sex you're going to love the emotion of lust."

Will let out a muffled screech, his mouthful of food not allowing him to do much more than that as Rich laughed at the look over his face.

Ducking out of the way of the hand that came to smack him upside the head Rich reached out and patted Will on the head in return. As his laughter died down and Will ranted at him for his vulgarity, once he'd swallowed his food of course, Rich couldn't help smiling the whole time.

It was such an indescribable joy to have his best friend back. He really had missed him.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to miss last weeks update! I didn't get the chapters to my beta reader until a few days ago and they're so amazing that they got them back to me as soon as possible!   
> Sorry again to everyone and thanks Beta for all of your hard work! :D

Jeremy was shocked to see Will was already home when he entered the house. Normally he was the first one to return, his last class of the day finishing at around three while the others didn't get back until four or five, six or later for Rich and Jake because of their swim club. Normally even Will would have been out until later, but with the other part of his life dealt with for now he seemed to be settling into his new schedule quite easily.

He was pretty sure that Will didn't even know that he was there, a pair of Jeremy's headphones covering his ears as he swayed gently to the music, puttering away at something in the kitchen. Although he was singing along with the words, his voice was soft, almost unable to carry up to Jeremy from where he was standing.

Not wanting to ruin what might have been his only chance to truly see Will relax Jeremy carefully removed his shoes, making his way down the three steps, skipping the second one that creaked loudly, and tiptoeing into the kitchen. As quietly as possible he slid into a seat at their kitchen table, shrugging his bag from his shoulders and lowering it to the floor. Working the bag open without the shrill screech of the zipper was agonizingly slow work, but he managed to do it, grabbing out his textbooks and notebooks and setting them on the table.

Although he wasn't quite sure, he had a theory that Will would snap at him a lot less if he saw that Jeremy was working on homework.

Opening everything to its proper place, he then promptly ignored it, moving his attention up and towards the other to continue his Will watching.

It was oddly refreshing to see Will like this. The only other time he'd seen him look so relaxed was when he was sleeping, but seeing him awake, fully aware of himself and his surroundings, seeing him ease up voluntarily rather than because his body was in recovery mode was something else entirely.

Now that he was close enough too, Jeremy could finally see just what it was he was working on. He wasn't shocked at all to see that Will was throwing together some type of meal, no doubt for all of them from the quantity that he had laid out. He actually loved Will's cooking, they all did, and it had to be one of his best redeeming qualities. Sure Will might have acted like an ass, and like he couldn't care one way or another for the rest of the group sometimes, but he always went out of his way to fuss over what they were eating, going so far as to make their lunches when he had the time and personalizing each one.

As Will set to work on cutting up a variety of different vegetables, he turned to his side to reach out for the knife. He must have seen Jeremy in the corner of his eye because before he could blink, Will had spun around to face him, the knife loaded in his hand and ready to be fired right into Jeremy's face.

"Whoa! Wait! Don't shoot!" Jeremy jerked back in his chair so quickly that he fell over, slamming into the solid floor flat on his back.

The air was knocked right out of his lungs, leaving him gasping as he rolled over to his side. Just as he pushed himself up on one arm, a hand reached down towards him.

Looking up he was shocked to see Will standing before him, a worried furrow of his brow as he looked down at Jeremy.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh..." The light from the window seemed to highlight Will's features, his eyes seeming brighter, his skin smoother as he looked Jeremy over, checking him for any injuries. Jeremy wasn't sure just what to say, his tongue feeling tied for a split moment as he just continued to stare stupidly up at Will.

The look over Will's face grew from concerned to confusion, a single brow arching up as he continued to hold out his hand somewhat awkwardly.

Seeing that he was blowing his shot Jeremy quickly snapped his hand out, clasping strongly onto Will's as he heaved himself up.

"Thanks." He muttered. Almost as an afterthought he added, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Will looked him over once more, his brows drawing close together as his lips pinched to the side for a moment. Only once he seemed to get what he wanted did he turn around, moving back over to the counter to continue with his work.

"Also, Jerem... Jeremiah, it is impossible to 'shoot' a knife with one's hand. That would require a gun or a cannon specially made to accomplish such a task."

Jeremy arched both of his brows upwards at the sudden name change. Will didn't use his full name, unless he was pissed at him for something but he honestly couldn't think of what. Shaking it off he gave a shrug of his shoulders, not too concerned about it as he scooped up his pencil.

"It's an expression Will."

Will hummed, clearly uninterested in his answer as he finished chopping up the peppers, moving on to the carrots.

"May I inform you, for future reference, that sneaking up on me is not something that is in your best interest."

Yeah, Jeremy could see that. He was leaving Will out of all further April Fools pranks or Halloween scares. There was no way that he wanted to be filled with any unnecessary holes. Besides, what kind of reaction was that anyways? Just who on earth did Will think he was? From the look on his face he was ready to terminate Jeremy if need be. Just what was Will's life like before he got here? How long had he been able to stay in one place for before he would have to move again in fear of being caught?

But as badly as he wanted to know, he kept his mouth shut. Every time he tried to force Will to open up it only made him that much more closed off. No. If this was something that Will wanted to tell him, Jeremy would wait. Besides, he did say that he wasn't going to pester Will about his past.

Eyeing the many different brightly-coloured vegetables strewed across the counter Jeremy couldn't help the small smile that came to his face.

"You're really big into nutrition eh?" Jeremy asked, resting his chin on his hand as he watched Will mix together this and that.

"But of course." Will muttered, his attention more on the task at hand rather than the one behind him. "I don't function properly without it and I learned that the hard way very fast when I was on my own."

Oo! Past stuff!

Jeremy leaned closer, waiting to absorb every word.

"Since I did not have a host I had to rely a lot on other energy sources and you can get an extra boost from eating the right foods. It is part of the human side of things." Will shrugged, tossing some of the sliced up vegetables into a strainer. "But you all appear to be hopeless with this side of your lives."

"Well, we're college kids Will." Jeremy chuckled somewhat sheepishly. "We live off of cereal, Spaghettios and pizza."

"A revolting diet."

Snickering at his distaste for their eating habits Jeremy smiled softly at the other's back. Silence fell over them both, but this time it lacked the tense, awkward strain that they had each become accustomed to. It was nice, they were both just sitting there, enjoying one anothers company without the need for words or feeling as if they had to entertain one another.

Glancing down at his textbook Jeremy let out a small, content sigh. He supposed that he should finish this up, even if it wasn't due until next week or so and he had only pulled it out as a prop.

As he looked over the worksheet and wondered about what to write for his paper, he couldn't stop himself from asking a few more questions.

"So are you going to Rich and Jake's swim meet this weekend?" He didn't look up from his work, but he highly doubted that Will bothered to toss him a glance either as the sound of shuffling vegetables could be heard.

"I have to admit that I am curious about this pastime of theirs." Will admitted. "And I would not want to let Richard or Jacob down by not attending so yes, I will be going with the rest of you."

"Great," this time he did look up, smiling at Will's back, his work completely forgotten, "we can sit next to each other then. It's going to be crowded so I'll keep my arm around you okay?"

Will tossed him a look from over his shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed as he gave a small pause to his movements.

"Do I look like I need to be babysat Jerem... miah?"

There it was again, that weird pause before Will finished his full name. Something about it just didn't sit right with Jeremy about that but he chose to push it to the side for now. He wanted to talk about this.

"It's not about babysitting you Will." He confessed. "I just... I know that there's going to be a lot of people around and I know that you're still in your... overprotective period so, you know I just want to make it a little easier on you and make sure to keep others from aggravating you."

For a long few seconds, Will just continued to stare at him, his brows pinched up in thought before he turned back around.

"I suppose that, that would be the smartest option."

Oh my god yes! He was doing so well right now!

Feeling rather victorious Jeremy wanted to push it just a little bit further.

"And you know, the weekend after that we're all going to have a karaoke night. Broadway show tunes and whatnot." He mumbled offhandedly, as if it was no big thing. Will nodded his head to show that he was still listening. "I don't know if singing is your thing but it would be a fun thing to do all together."

"I supposes that bonds can be strengthened through sharing good times with the people you care about." Will muttered, carefully pouring a measured amount of olive oil over the vegetables.

"So you'll do it?" Jeremy asked, an odd sort of excitement creeping up on him as he fidgeted with his pencil, tapping it rhythmically against the paper.

"Yes."

"Cool, Brooke's coming too."

He watched, panic suddenly blooming in his stomach as Will appeared to freeze, every one of his movements coming to such a sudden still it was a little unnerving.

"Oh no, it looks like I forgot that I actually have something planned on that weekend after all."

A frown came to his face at the badly told lie, his shoulders shifting closer to his ears as he shifted in his seat.

"She's not a bad person Will."

"I never said that she was." Will muttered back, refusing to turn around and look at Jeremy.

With a heavy sigh he got to his feet, moving around the table and walking over to Will's side. He turned, leaning on the counter right in the place where Will was working, cutting him off from his distraction and receiving a glare in return for it.

"Will..."

"Do not look at me that way Jeremiah, I am not a child."

"Could have fooled me." Jeremy muttered. "Come on, it's not going to be that bad. Brooke's a nice girl and I want to be able to hang out with her more, but I can't do that if you don't start warming up to her."

There was a flash of something across Will's face that Jeremy couldn't quite catch, but as quickly as it had been there it was gone, and snappy, snarly Will came out to play in full force.

"I do not have to like all of your friends!" Will hissed, jerking himself away from Jeremy and over to the stove. "And you can not force me to do so."

"Will you're being kind of petty about this." Jeremy pressed, his frown growing larger as he followed after him. "Just give her a chance okay? She's already afraid that you don't like her."

"Well she would be right!" Will snapped, turning on Jeremy so quickly he barely had time to take a step back so they wouldn't run into each other. "It's not fair that I have to share you with her when Richard and Jacob get their hosts all to themselves!"

Jeremy said nothing, only able to blink owlishly down at Will as the thought finally struck home.

"You're jealous?"

Will jerked back so hard he rammed himself into the oven. For a split second his face went bright red, his eyes blown wide in shock and his lips left opening and closing in a pretty good impersonation of a fish while he tried to speak. He was quick to recover though, forcing the blush away as his eyes narrowed sharply at Jeremy before he stomped around him.

"Do not assume such ridiculous ideas Jeremiah." He grumbled. Jeremy caught a hold of his wrist as he passed by, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

"Will..."

"It's just hard." Will snapped, his voice shaking slightly, his gaze refusing to meet Jeremy's as he spoke. "I-I don't..." Will trailed off with an enraged hiss, his free hand coming up to roughly rub over his face as he tried to think through on his scattered thoughts. "I am not used to having to...depend," The word might as well have been a blade being dragged up his throat from the way that Will spat it out, "on other people, much less a host and I... it is not easy having to hand that control over to someone else and I can not even control what you do and I need..." Will hissed again, his hand now gripping a fistful of his hair as he struggled.

Jeremy felt bad. He honestly did. He couldn't imagine having to do this himself. Having to spend years relying on no one but himself and then to suddenly have all of his control ripped from him and thrown into the hands of some stranger who didn't care about it...

He bit down on his bottom lip, his grip loosening from Will's wrist but not letting it go as he slid his fingers down along the inside of his arm all the way until they were brushing the calloused palms of Will's hand. He didn't miss the shiver that trailed through Will's body, or the sudden explosion of goosebumps he got from his touch. He didn't know what to say though. Neither of them could get rid of the bond, they were stuck together— forever, and the realization of that struck Jeremy hard as he stared at the one before him.

Will was basically his, and he was Will's, for the rest of their lives. Will wouldn't be able to last without him anymore, and if he used up too much power Jeremy would die too. They were stuck, and it was driving Will mad.

He'd lived his whole life on the run, depending solely on himself to keep going and to stay alive, and then Jeremy entered the picture, and he was forced to stop, to remain stationary and basically an open target. Jeremy basically took an unstoppable force and slammed it into a brick wall. This was killing Will, as good as it was for him to not be constantly looking over his shoulder, as good as it was for him to finally be surrounded by people that he cared about, it was such a sudden and sharp shift that it had left Will dazed.

This wasn't what he was use to, and now on top of it he was battling for Jeremy's attention with Brooke and it was a battle he couldn't lose because it would mean the end of his world if he did.

He didn't dislike Brooke because she was hanging out with Jeremy, he disliked her because she could have possibly made the difference between him being at his best or being borderline dead.

And it scared him.

Jeremy could see it now, the slight shaking in his limbs, the quick rise and fall of his chest, the look in his eyes. Will had no idea what he was doing, no idea what to do about the sudden power shift that Jeremy had done to him when he refused to be lead around like a dog and wanted his own life back. All this time he'd been trying to control Jeremy, to keep what he could of his old life, the only thing that he thought he'd be able to still have regardless of how much everything had changed, and now he knew that he couldn't and he was grasping at straws.

Will basically had nothing now. No control, no choice, no freedom, nothing. Although they were all more than happy, okay some more than others maybe, to have Will with them, he was basically a stray they had taken in. Will didn't feel that this was his home, he'd never had one, and they had all known each other for years and while yeah, he had known Rich and Jake it had been so long since he'd seen either of them and no doubt quite a bit had changed that maybe it felt like he was living with a bunch of strangers.

Jeremy still had his friends, still had his home and his way of life, and that was something that Will just... didn't have anymore.

Without a word he tugged Will back towards himself, wrapping his arms tightly around him and tucking Will's head under his chin as he soothingly ran his hand up and down his back.

Will growled, trying to wriggle out of Jeremy's hold only to have it tighten around him even more.

"I'm sorry."

Will stilled, and Jeremy could feel the pounding of Will's heart thrumming through his body, could feel the slight tremors in his limbs as his hands moved up to cling at Jeremy's shirt. Jeremy moved his hand up, gently running his fingers through Will's hair as he rocked them gently back and forth, feeling slightly better when the shaking in Will came to a slow stop, his heart settling back down to match Jeremy's own.

This was nice. He liked having Will in his arms. Something about it just felt right.

And then the front door swung open.

"Micheal makes an entrance!"

Jeremy yelped as he was shoved back, Will growling lowly at him as he quickly made his way back to the counter to resume his work while Micheal and Christine walked in the front door.

"Hey Jeremy! You'll never guess what Ms. Sawyer taught us in class today!" Micheal yelled, kicking off his shoes, both of them completely oblivious to the mood they had just ruined.

"Oh really? Spill." Although his enthusiasm was a little forced, neither of the two seemed to pick up on it, Micheal jumped into full detail about just what had happened to him today as Christine made her way down the stairs, Micheal following quickly behind her.

He felt a little bit guilty when he mostly tuned Micheal out, listening enough to ask questions at the appropriate moments and to nod his head when needed. He leaned back against the counter, standing next to Will's side, unable to move himself back to the table to resume his work for a reason he couldn't place his finger on. Thankfully Will didn't seem to mind that he was in his way, working around Jeremy when he could and Jeremy handing him things when he couldn't.

"Oo! What are you making Will?" Christine asked, popping up on his other side with a wide grin over her lips as Will turned his attention to her. "Can I help?"

"If you would like."

Tossing a small side smile over to the two Jeremy felt a small source of joy blooming in his chest as Will handed over the bowl to Christine.

Seeing as how Will had someone to keep him company now Jeremy fully turned his attention to his best friend, laughing at the situation that Micheal had found himself in today as the atmosphere shifted.

Taking one final glance over at Will before he moved himself over to the table, Jeremy couldn't stop the warm smile from coming to his lips.


	22. Chapter 22

"Um..."

"I do not have words."

Jeremy snapped his mouth shut, glad that he wasn't the only one who found this to be uncomfortably awkward as his eyes stayed glued on the object between them.

They hadn't bothered to give Christine her air mattress back, neither of them wanting to admit, even if it was subtle, to their friends about what was going on. He was sure the Jake probably knew, or at least assumed somewhat, and obviously Rich knew since he was the one who had told him, but there was no way he wanted the others to know as well. At least not right now. It was still new to both Jeremy and Will and the idea of Micheal teasing and Christine cooing over the idea made him squirmy. He was sure that he would be fine with it after a while, they were his friends after all and he knew that they would mean it all in good fun but... he knew it would end up making Will very uncomfortable.

So together they stared down at Jeremy's bed. Neither of them moving towards it.

They had already gotten ready for the night, brushed their teeth, washed their faces and slipped into their pajamas. Jeremy couldn't help the small source of envy as he eyed Will's clothes, wondering just how it was that he managed to pull off a plain black long sleeve shirt and sweatpants as if he was in the middle of some sort of fashion catalogue, but he pushed the feeling away at the look over Will's face.

He'd never seen the poor guy looking so out of his depth before.

Deciding that maybe it would be better if he went first, Jeremy pulled the covers down, slipping into the bed with such a fake nonchalance that he just about choked. Shifting himself until he was laying on his side he looked up at Will, trying to plaster on an easy smile as he motioned for him to do the same.

"Come on, it's not that bad."

But he could barely believe the words himself, and from the grimace that over came Will's features he could tell that he could see it clear as day. He refused to drop his act though, not wanting to make this harder than it already was for the two of them.

Will's arms tightened over his chest, and for a split moment Jeremy wondered if he was just going to set up the air mattress anyways and forget about this whole thing. Just as he thought that Will was about to turn his back on him, he finally moved, a bright red coming to his cheeks as he slipped into the bed next to Jeremy, laying down and giving out a small huff, keeping a good amount of space between them both.

"Um, Will, I'm pretty sure that we have to be... I don't know, touching or something? Remember? It's a physically contact thing." Jeremy reminded him, earning himself a scowl as he did so.

"Obviously Jeremiah." Will snapped, still remaining just where he was.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Jeremy reached out and wrapped his arm around the others waist. It was almost to easy to tug Will over to him, and in the back of his mind he made a mental note to check Will's eating habits. The guy might have made sure that they were all eating okay but was he himself getting what he needed?

Pushing the thought to the back for now he smiled at the frown over Will's face, hoping to settle his nerves just a little bit as he chuckled.

"Come on, it's not that bad is it?" He asked, a small part of his dreading to hear the answer as Will's brows narrowed sharply over his eyes.

Without a word Will rolled around, turning his back to him before he snuggled deeper into the pillow.

"There." Will muttered, sounding satisfied with himself. "Now it is better. I do not have to see your face this way."

Jeremy rolled his eyes so hard that it almost hurt, scooting close to Will once more and pulling him against his chest. He made sure to keep their lower halves separated, his chin resting on Will's shoulder as he sighed deeply through his nose.

Man was this guy ever a handful.

As the minutes ticked by Jeremy found that he still couldn't sleep, his hand mindlessly stroking Will's lower stomach with a gentle brush of his fingertips as he tried to go through every trick in the book to help him fall asleep faster. Sheep wasn't working, and neither was counting one and two over and over again or focusing on his breathing. Normally he had no problem with fall straight asleep, especially lately with all of the training that Will was putting him though, but he just... he couldn't seem to drift into the world of dreams as easily as he was use to anymore.

With an open mouthed sigh he nuzzled closer, tightening his hold just a fraction as he tried to focus on Will's body heat. At the very least that was nice. Will was like a little personal heating pad, and even with the blankets on him Jeremy had always found his room to be a tab bit cold. If cuddling with Will at night allowed him to not have to be cold again than he could get use to this. In the summer on the other hand...

"Hey," unable to help but wonder now that his brain trailed there, he whispered gently against Will's ear, "are you going to be this warm in the summer too? Because it's nice right now but I imagine it's going to kill us both in the warmer weather." Will didn't say anything, remaining silent in Jeremy's hold as he finally stilled his hand, instead pressing it flatly against his hipbone. "Will?" Had he already fallen asleep? Wow, that was quick.

"I-I'm raising my body temperature." Will's voice sounded a little funny, a little breathless and slightly higher than Jeremy was use to. "I thought it would help you sleep better."

"Oh." Resuming his light stroking down the curve of Will's hipbone he let out a small chuckle, trailing the tip of his nose up the skin just behind Will's ear. "That's really sweet of you. Thanks."

Will didn't say anything in response, but Jeremy didn't mind. The guy was no doubt just tired, it had been a long day for him after all and he'd been doing really well today too. Jeremy was actually pretty impressed with him.

He didn't know if it was selfish to say, but he was kind of glad that this was something that they had to do now. Holding Will was... nice, he liked it, there was something about it that just felt right. He liked being able to cuddle with him, and to hold him, he liked being able to feel Will's heartbeat, even if he was slightly confused about the fast rate it was going, maybe that was just a Squip thing. It was nice to be able to run his fingers over Will's stomach, occasionally slipping under his shirt and stroking over smooth, solid skin.

He'd forgotten just how much he missed this. Just how much he missed holding another person in his arms.

Before his mind could full process just what it was he was doing, he tilted his head down and pressed his lips to the curve of Will's throat.

The very air in the room went still.

Jeremy froze. Will tensed in his hold. for the longest time, neither of them dared to so much as breath.

Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit! Had he just ruined his thing with Will? Was Will going to feel to uncomfortable to be around him now? How was he supposed to make sure that they guy was going to be okay if Will wasn't going to allow him to be close after this? Would Will end up rather dying than allow Jeremy near him again? Was he going to close himself off to him once more now? Was Jeremy back at square one? He'd barely just stepped on square two!

Not knowing what else to do he decided that maybe putting space between them would make Will more comfortable, but when he tried to pull his hand away, Will's own snapped up and wrapped around it, keeping it in place.

That was more even more startling than the kiss that Jeremy had placed upon his neck. It spoke loads more than what Jeremy had done. It spoke loads about what Jeremy was allowed to do.

He hesitated, waiting for Will to throw his hand away or to turn and snap at him or to get up and leave altogether. But it never came.

Admittedly his hands shook slightly as he pressed his lips to Will's neck once more, allowing them to linger, giving Will any chance to pull away or to say something. But Will just sighed, a tension seeming to leave his body as he sunk back into Jeremy's hold, and that was all the go ahead he needed.

Starting off gently, he placed butterfly kisses, light and fleeting up and down Will's throat, his hold on Will's waist tightening, solid and firm in contrast. A promise of what was to come later.

He smirked at the slight tremor that passed through Will's body when he placed his lips against the top of his spine, his hand dragging his fingernails lightly across his stomach, raising his shirt in the process.

Without any warning he pulled against Will's waist, turning him flat on his back as he moved to hover over him. From this new position he could admire the stunned look that had befallen Will's features, but he was afraid of looking to long, afraid that if he allow either of them to think to much than they would change their minds and back out. He didn't want that, he didn't want to think, and he didn't want Will thinking for once either.

He wanted to kiss him too. To help ease Will's mind a little and show him that this was okay. But that was far more intimate then what Jeremy had promised, and he didn't want to freak him out by pushing his luck.

So instead he dipped his head, his fingers playing with the edge of Will's collar before ever so slowly pushing it aside. A shiver went through Will's body when Jeremy's fingers lightly dragged over his skin in the process and Jeremy couldn't help but wonder just how sensitive Will actually was.

"Are you sure about this?"

Just one more out. That was all he was able to give Will. Just one more chance to change his mind if this really wasn't something that he wanted. Only then would he be able to push forward with his actions and not feel the least bit of guilt.

"Are all humans this slow when it comes to these activities?"

Jeremy scoffed, nearly snorting at the very thought as he gave a small shake of his head. He wouldn't mind having that conversation with Will... actually, he would, but he could already imagine it and just how funny it would be.

But for now he pushed that thought to the side, choosing to turn his attention to Will once more when as he pushed the fabric out of the way. He didn't want anyone to know about this, or really, he guessed that he wouldn't mind, but he highly doubted that Will would be to thrilled if people found about about this. Placing the marks in spots that were easy to conceal would be his best option.

With a slight tilt of his head, his lips were pressed firmly against the base of Will's throat. There was a hitch of breath, a barely audible gasp as Will's hand twitched at his side, but other than that, he didn't move. Jeremy on the other hand took full advantage of the opportunity he was given. Without pulling away he ran his tongue over the spot he'd chosen, moving his other hand up to gently run his fingers through the others hair.

He let loose a soft breath over the wet spot, the quick cooling of it pulling a shiver out of the squip before him as he scraped his teeth against the smooth flesh underneath him. He bit down, deciding that a gentler approach would work best for now as he rested his hand on Will's hip, his thumb rubbing small, soothing circles against the v shaped dip.

The touch made Will tense slightly, but he didn't push Jeremy away, in fact when his hands finally did move they clung to him, as if he was afraid that Jeremy would just up and leave if he didn't hold onto him.

The action was rather sweet, and Jeremy couldn't help the small part of satisfaction that coiled tightly in his stomach at it.

He kept his bites gentle, nothing more then a light pressure against the others throat, his other free hand trailing the tips of his fingers up the other side of Will's neck. The body underneath him shivered from the impact, and he couldn't help but allow a small smirk to crawl over his lips at the strange, but appealing, submission before him.

Man, it had been way to long since he'd last been with someone. He hadn't bothered trying to find anyone to date or even have a casual fling since midterms last year. It was just to hard to be a college student and keep a relationship going. Or at least it was for him, he had no idea how the rest of his friends managed it so well but than again they hadn't dated Madeline either. If anyone wanted an example of high maintenance...

But he pushed the thought from his mind, the hand on Will's hip slowly manoeuvring the fabric of his shirt upwards, his nails lightly scratching into the firm flesh as Will let out a small whine.

The sound made Jeremy growl. An honest to god rumble of a growl from the depth of his chest.

Without much of an effort, or even really a thought, he shifted his position, placing a knee in between Will's legs, his teeth biting down just a little bit harder as his other hand moved back to firmly grabbed a fistful of Will's hair.

"J-Jeremiah-."

"Jeremy." He interrupted with a growl, lifting his head enough to glare down at a stunned Will.

God did he ever look fucking adorable like this. Cheeks flushed, chest heaving, pupils blown wide, expression slightly daze.

"Wh..."

"It's Jeremy." He corrected dragging his tongue along Will's neck and up to the spot just behind his ear. "Say it."

Will whined again, his hands clawing at Jeremy's shirt, his teeth biting down hard into his bottom lip as Jeremy tilted his head back just the slightest with the hold he had on him.

"B-But Jeremiah is..."

"William." The name was a command as he nipped at the edge of Will's ear with his fangs. "Say it."

"Jeremy." His name was barely a gasp tumbling from passed the others lips, a mewl following it shortly after as Will screwed his eyes shut when Jeremy bit down hard on the curve of his shoulder as a reward. "Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy-fuck!"

Jeremy chuckled at his small curse, pulling away again as he looked down at Will. This was all to easy. Will was just so sensitive, so use to being in control. But although Jeremy might have been a bit of a clumsy idiotic pushover at most things in life, he was always the one to dominate in the bedroom.

"Good boy." Although he was dying to claim Will's lips, he pressed his kiss to the corner of them instead, his hand slowly loosening its hold as he shifted himself down.

Will blinked slowly in confusion, his clouded mind not picking up on Jeremy's movements until his lips were pressed firmly against the flat plain of Will's stomach. When he gave a small yelp, Jeremy snapped his hand up, clamping it firmly over Will's mouth.

For his part, Will seemed to pick up on his wordless warning, giving a nod of his head for Jeremy to continue, breathing heavily when the hand was removed.

Turning back to the task at hand Jeremy traced his tongue over the dips of Will's stomach, feeling free to mark it up as much as he wanted without having to worry about anyone seeing it, although he knew that Will would.

The idea of Will having to see these marks across his body for days afterwards made Jeremy's stomach swoop pleasantly. His mind wandered on just how Will would react to seeing them for the first time, of how he would feel knowing that they were there as he went about his day. The idea of Will having a constant reminder of just what they had done and who had done it to him made a small, dominating part of Jeremy purr in delight at the very thought.

He lifted his teeth from the sharp curve of Will's hip, smirking at the mark that he'd left behind. That one was going to take at least a week to disappear. Glancing up he smirked as he lightly traced the tips of his fingers over Will's stomach, going from mark to mark, the muscles fluttering under his touch as Will pressed his fist deeper against his mouth.

When Jeremy shifted his knee slightly, pressing against something solid and firm, Will finally snapped.

Gasping for air as if he'd just sprinted a whole ten k, Will shot up, pushing against Jeremy's shoulders and forcing him back onto his knees. Jeremy allowed himself to be moved, easily backing off and sitting back on his heels as he carefully watched the others reaction.

He might have pushed Will just a little bit to far.

He stayed carefully still, the hands on his shoulders shaking as Will's head hung low, gulping down air as if he'd been seconds away from drowning. Will's whole body was shaking, nearly vibrating in fact, and Jeremy wasn't sure if he should have been worried about that or not.

"Um, you okay Will?" He asked, badly wanting to reach out and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. He highly doubted that it would help though, in fact it might just end up making things worse.

"J-just one moment." Will got out between breath fulls of air. "I am-I am not use to so much energy at once."

Oh. Well Rich hadn't said anything about it being overwhelming. Maybe he just had no idea. It wasn't as if Jeremy had been his host long after all, and before lately they had the bare minimum of physical contact. He guessed that it would make sense for something like this to overload him at first. He wasn't use to it after all and he knew for a fact that Micheal and Rich had spent a year just cuddling and holding hands before they went anywhere close to the whole way.

Maybe he really had pushed it to far.

Oops.

It didn't take very much longer for Will to calm down, his breath evening out as his hands slowly slid from Jeremy's shoulders to rest on the bed. It was only then that he noticed his problem and snapped his legs shut. His face went brilliantly red, his lips pinching together as he glared up at Jeremy.

"I won't say a word!" Jeremy squeaked, throwing his hands up, not wanting to be on the bad side of Will's temper. "And I'm sorry. I, um, I shouldn't have, uh, well that is I didn't mean to..."

His words were interrupted by a small snicker. His jaw went slack as he watch Will slap a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds, his shoulders shaking in laughter as his eyes screwed shut.

Jeremy had never seen him laugh before...

It was the cutest fucking thing ever.

He found himself dumbstruck by the one before him. His jaw dropping at the expression over Will's face, at the sliver chimes of laughter muffled by his hand. His heart pounded almost painfully against his ribs as he felt the heat of a consuming blush crawling up his neck to stain his cheeks.

It was only once Will had calmed down, dropping his hand to wrap around his legs that Jeremy finally snapped himself out of it.

"What a perfect story of Jackal and Hyde." Will mused, Jeremy arching a brow at the names before he caught on to just what it was Will was talking about.

Not sure what to say to that though he didn't response, biting down on the corner of his lip as he shifted his gaze over to the side.

Well, at least Will seemed surprisingly okay with this. But...

"Um..." Did Will even need to sleep next to him anymore? Had that given him his full charge or...? "Did, um did you want me to sleep on the air mattress?"

It wouldn't have felt right to kick Will out of the bed now, but he wasn't sure just how Will was going to feel about him sleeping in the same bed anymore.

Will arched a brow at him, any of his amusement from earlier gone as he gave a slight tilt of his head.

"Of course not. I might have collected a fair amount of energy all at once but that does not mean that I managed to fill it all."

Oh Jeremy knew of something that would fill him just fine.

Jesus fuck no! That thought- had not -just crossed his mind!

His face flared, unable to look at Will any longer as he shifted on the bed, moving back over to his side as he laid down once more. Will didn't protest as much as he had at the beginning, settling in with his back to Jeremy. The idea that in this position Will was obviously trying to keep his happy friend from being an issue only made Jeremy's stomach drop in a pleasant but completely unwanted way as he wrapped his arm back around the others waist.

He bit down hard on his bottom lip, his teeth just wishing to sink into the flesh before him once more. He really wished he'd left more marks now. Left them in obvious places that Will wouldn't be able to hide. Wanted their friends to know, the school to know, the enter fricken world to know that he claimed this one, that Will was his and he wasn't going to share.

But it was a selfish thought, his mind was still wired on the adrenaline from before.

So instead he kept his mouth shut, struggling not to ask Will if he wanted help with handling his situation but dying to offer his assistance. His arm tightened around Will's waist, allowing Will to feel just how worked up he himself had become as he tugged him in closer, pressing their bodies flush together as his hand traced mindless patterns across the others lower stomach once more, listened to Will's breath hitch from the sudden intimate presses from both sides.

"Goodnight William."

The whine he got in turn was almost silent, but it curled the sides of Jeremy's lips up anyways as he buried his face against the side of the others throat.

If this was how their nights were going to be from now on, he didn't mind it one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So... I hope that was okay. I need a lot of work in making these scenes since I don't write them much but I hope that everyone liked it well enough. :) Also I'm sorry for any grammar errors. My beta reader is under the weather so I did it as best as I could but I'm no where near her skill. DX Here's to hoping she gets better soon! :D


	23. Chapter 23

"Rich! Hey!"

Jeremy chuckled from next to his friend's side, taking a seat as Micheal continued to call to his fiancée from the bleachers. His yell caught both of Rich's and Jake's attention, their heads snapping up to see just who had called, Rich's face lighting up at the sight of them as he waved back.

Satisfied with the results, Micheal was absolutely beaming as he turned back to the rest of them, flopping down in the spot next to Jeremy with the biggest grin he'd ever seen on his face.

"My baby's gonna kick ass."

"I'm sure he is." Jeremy added, snickering slightly in amusement.

"It's a good thing that him and Jake are on the same team." Christine said, waving their school's colours in the air over her head. "With them together no other team stands a chance."

"Well, I don't know if that is necessarily true." Will muttered, none too gently shoving Micheal over and stealing his seat. "There is always someone out there who is better than you. That is why you train."

"Uh, Will?" Jeremy really didn't want to start a fight, not when they had been doing so well over the past week, but... "Micheal was sitting there."

"So?"

His deadpanned response made Jeremy flinch, heaving a large sigh as Micheal waved off his concern from over Will's shoulder.

"It's fine Jeremy." Micheal said. Even though there was a smile on his face, Jeremy could see that it clearly wasn't. "He's your squip after all, I get how it works."

While that might have been true Jeremy could only frown at his best friend in return. He knew that Will was still being a little clingy and overprotective, he'd chucked a frying pan at Rich's head just this morning when he'd punch Jeremy's arm, thankfully for his competition today Rich had managed to dodge just fine, but still. Micheal was his best friend, and he hated the fact that he wasn't able to spend as much time with him anymore now that so much of it was either taken up with school or with Will. And sure, Rich had been doing the same thing to Jeremy for years, but Micheal was always there to put him back in his place when Rich was getting out of control, and right now that's just what Will was being.

"If you wanted to switch spots with Micheal, you could have asked." Jeremy scolded, locking his gaze with Will's as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You can't just shove him to the side like that. You should apologize."

Will just stared at him in return, his gaze narrowing slightly as he raised his hands to tug lightly on the drawstrings of his school themed hoodie, a gift from Jeremy just a day or so ago when he'd started shivering. It was a little bit too big but it was cute. They held each other's gazes, neither one wanting to be the first one to break it. Surprisingly however Will sighed, dropping his gaze as he turned to face Micheal.

"I apologize for stealing your spot without permission." He said, giving a small bow of his head. "Would you mind if I were to sit next to Jeremy for the duration of the tournament?"

A look of shock overcame Micheal's face, becoming stunned at the polite request as Jeremy smiled at the one next to his side.

He was getting better.

"Uh, yea sure. I mean I know how it is to be next to the one you like." Micheal said, a big grin coming to his face as he threw his arm around Will's shoulders, tugging him in close to his chest and earning a surprised squawk from the squip.

"What!? No I..." Will shoved himself away from the other male's hold, his face burning but his words coming to a sudden halt when Jeremy rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks William."

It might have been a bit cruel, but Jeremy couldn't really find it in himself to feel bad about it when Will's face managed a new shade of red. Using Will's full name had become something he only did when they were tangled together in the dark, when he was praising the other with soft honeyed words or punishing him for not listening. It was just plain mean to pull it out when they were in public when he knew full well just what effect it had on the guy, but, meh, payback he supposed. For Rich or Micheal he wasn't sure. He'd just pick one when Will confronted him about it later tonight.

"Oh! There they are! Over here girls!" Christine suddenly shouted, jumping up from her place and waving her hands at the three who had just wandered in.

Jeremy found his attention turning to Christine's friends, returning a wave that Brooke gave him as her whole face lit up at the sight of him.

For some odd reason that smile gave him a guilty twist in his stomach, suddenly becoming nervous as they drew closer. He jumped slightly when Will shifted closer to him, their sides pressed firmly together now as he wrapped his leg around Jeremy's, his shoulders hunching as he gave a small growl at the approaching group.

Christine didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in greeting her friends, but Micheal and Jeremy quickly shot a look at each other from over Will's head.

Yeah this... this wasn't looking like it was going to end well.

"I'm so glad that you guys could make it!" Christine said, the smile over her face making her glow as she took her seat again, Jeremy thankful when the other seat down on her side and didn't bother trying to sit close to him.

"I wouldn't miss seeing hot guys in tiny bathing suits for anything!" Jenna grinned, her phone already out and snapping away pictures. "You have no idea just how many clicks this kind of thing gets."

"Creepy." Will muttered, blatantly sticking out his tongue at Jenna when she shifted her gaze to glare at him. The childish act seemed to catch her off guard just as it did Jeremy. He'd never seen Will act so...

"It's nice to see you again guys!" Brooke grinned, her smile almost as bright as Christine's.

"Charmed I'm sure." Will muttered, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and blatantly turning away from her to stare out over at the pool.

"Don't mind him." Jeremy quickly threw in, the small frown over Brooke's lips just looking plain wrong. "He's just a little moody today."

"Oh..." Brooke didn't elaborate more on it, sinking into her seat next to her blond friend who glared at Jeremy from over her head.

Jeremy paled, something about that stare sending an ice cold shiver down his spine as he felt himself tensing. He had no idea just what he had done wrong, but he had a strange feeling that she wanted to kill him, or at the very least wanted to smack him hard upside the head. But he hadn't even been the one to do anything! Will was the one being snippy and short!

Sinking back into his seat, mirroring Brooke, Jeremy decided that maybe right now it was best not to say anything.

"Hey Chloe," Micheal greeted as Christine and Jenna started up their own conversation, "I don't suppose that there's any chance that you managed to figure out just what it is that Mr. Hamilton wants us to do right? I mean I tried to keep track but he moves way too fast for me."

Her once icy gaze warmed as she turned her attention to Micheal, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she shot him a small smirk.

"He does tend to get lost in his topics doesn't he? I've started recording his lecturers and slowing them down. I can send you the file if you'd like."

"Oh my god yes please, thank you." Micheal said, Chloe chuckled at his antics.

Jeremy jumped when Will suddenly jumped to his feet, his head snapping around this way and that. The rest of the group seemed just as unsettled by his abrupt actions, every single one of them tensing and shooting looks at each other until he sat back down just as suddenly as he had gotten up.

"Uh, everything okay?" Jeremy asked, arching a brow at him as Will continued to shift his gaze around the pool room while the rest of the crowd finished filling in.

"Yes."

Jeremy didn't believe him.

The rest of the group on the other hand slowly turned back to their own conversations, Christine sent Jeremy a questioning look that he could only shrug at in return. He had no idea what on earth that was about.

He didn't however miss the way that Jenna tossed a look over to Will, or the small, barely there shake of his head that he gave back to her.

Just what were they up to? Was there another squip here or something? Was there some other type of danger here? If there was should they have not been leaving? Just what was going on?

He bit down on his tongue on all of his questions however, not trusting himself to keep the conversation quiet if he voiced them now. Although he was going to question Will about it the moment that they were alone. Sure he hadn't known Will for long but he didn't just act like that out of nowhere. Something had spooked him.

With Will's little outburst all but forgotten by this point everyone turned their attention towards the pool as the announcer started up.

(***)

"I can't believe that we won!" Rich cheered, the adrenaline coursing through his veins making him just a little bit louder than he was normally.

The rest of the group cheered along with him as they made their way down the street towards the local bar.

While they all, well, most of them anyways, now knew that the squips in their group couldn't really handle alcohol, they didn't seem to stop them from wanting to go out and celebrate with their hosts and friends. Although Jeremy himself wasn't too sure about how he felt about this he didn't bother bringing anyone down. Besides, maybe it would turn out okay.

"Man, I haven't been out drinking in forever." Brooke mumbled, mostly to herself but her words caught Jeremy's attention anyways.

"Oh yea?" He asked. "When was your last time?"

She seemed a little shocked that he'd spoken to her, and it only made Jeremy feel worse. He hadn't been trying to ignore her at all. He just hadn't wanted Will to snap out at her.

Will, for his part, didn't say anything, didn't even turn to them as he continued to walk next to Jeremy. It seemed that he was going to try and stay calm this time around. Well, that was nice.

"Yea, I've been so busy with class and extra curricular that I haven't had the time." She said, a small smile coming to her face as she moved a little bit closer to Jeremy.

"Oh? You're involved in something at the school?"

At his question she seemed to fumble, her gaze shooting over to the side slightly as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"No, it's um, it's an outside school thing." She corrected, before suddenly changing the topic. "But I'm sure it will be a lot of fun! I have work tomorrow so I can't drink too much but I love dancing."

Jeremy couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, ignoring the long suffering sigh that Will gave from next to his side.

"I think you'll be surprised to see just how many of us will be on your side. None of us really drink either."

"Why is that?" Chloe asked, appearing so suddenly that it made all three of them jump.

"Uh..."

"We do not enjoy the morning after a heavy drinking session." Will lied, "We find it to be a waste of our day."

Chloe gave a small hum, staring down at Will from where she towered over him in her heels. The two seemed to have some sort of weird staring competition, the air between them growing more and more tense as the seconds stretched on. Then something seemed to catch Chloe's attention, her sharp nails reaching up and looping Will's hood, pulling it back to expose the back of his neck as a smirk stretched over her lips.

"Oh? Looks like someone's having fun."

Jeremy's face paled, remembering about the mark that he'd left there just a day or two ago. The only good thing right now was that the others were too far ahead to have hear her little comment as Will knocked her hand away.

"What? Jealous that you were not involved?"

Both Jeremy and Brooke had to turn away and slap their hands over their mouths, to keep from laughing at the scandalized look that had splashed over her face.

"Not in the least bit." She hissed, as Will smirked up at her.

"Then who cares?"

With that he turned his back on her, marching on ahead while Jeremy stared in awe at his back. He'd handled that surprisingly well. Jeremy would have bulked if he would have been the one to be suddenly called out like that.

"Yikes, he really put you in your place Chloe." Brooke snickered good-naturedly, smiling at the glare she received in return.

"Oh hush you." Chloe grumbled, following after Will. Jeremy just hoped she wasn't going to try and start a fight with him. It wasn't one that she would win.

Just left alone with Brooke now he felt the air between them thicken. Tossing a look over at her he was a little shocked to see that she was giving him a funny little smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm just happy that you and Will seem to be doing so well." She giggled, clasping her hands behind her back. "I mean I was worried when you had been talking about it before but you guys seem to have come along a fair bit."

"Oh." But they weren't dating or anything. But... man, Jeremy really had to find out just what it is that he was doing. Sure Will was his squip and they wouldn't be able to be separated for the rest of their lives but... what if he did want to start dating someone? What if he wanted to date Brooke? Was he just going to have to hide Will? Was he going to have to ask about a poly relationship? That wasn't something that he was really into. Sure he didn't have a problem with other people being in them, but they just weren't his thing personally.

But he didn't know what to say.

He didn't know whether to correct her or not.

Maybe this was just for the best until he could talk to Will and figure this out.

So instead he just smiled back at her, returning his attention to Will, watching as he and Chloe continued to snark at each other ahead of them.

"Thanks."

(***)

Will knew that he shouldn't have been drinking but...

Lifting the shot to his lips he threw it back quickly, gasping as he slammed it down on the counter a second later, the liquid burning like fire down his throat.

He was a little wobbly where he was standing, and the whole room felt like it was slowly spinning around him, the pace picking up more and more with every new rotation. The lights felt too bright, and he hated the way that they flashed random colours at random times, only adding to the illusion of movement as a countless amount of people freaked out on the dance floor. He pressed his hands to his ears for a moment to try and drown out the noise that they called music, but quickly dropped them when he realized that it wasn't doing anything.

God he really shouldn't have had so much to drink.

Pushing himself away from the bar he started his way to the table where some of the group was still sitting. As his eyes glanced over the crowd, he couldn't help the small smile or little giddy laughter from passing by his lips at the sight of Rich and Jake dancing with Christine and Micheal. At least they looked like they were having fun. Now that he was thinking about it he was going to have to ask them to spar with him soon, and it might even be a good idea for him to get them to train their hosts how to use their bonds properly.

With a small hum he nodded his head at his new plan. It was a good plan. It could be fun, and it never hurt to have too much practice in self defence.

He continued humming, although what song he was trying to hum was beyond his brain's capability to figure out as he stumbled towards the table they had all snatched up the moment that they had arrived. He all but fell into the booth, his arms flailing in his inebriated state as he slowly blinked at the space before him, trying to figure out his balance for a stretched out few seconds.

It was only once he managed to fix himself into sitting up right that he looked around the table, shocked to see that both Jeremy and Chloe were missing, but as he turned to his side he saw that he was sitting next to no one other than...

"Brooke."

The girl drew back a little as she nervously sipped on her drink through a brightly coloured straw, the bright pink object distracting Will for a moment because, who invented those things anyway? What was so bad about drinking from the cup itself that they didn't want to touch their lips to it? Was it a germ thing? That didn't make any sense, could it have been a practical thing? Nah.

So lost in his own thoughts Will forgot all about her until the drink was held out to him.

"Would you like some?"

A part of him wanted to hiss at the offer and throw it in her face but... she really hadn't done anything wrong and no matter what that wasn't the appropriate action, it wouldn't solve anything. The other part of him on the other hand reached out, taking the glass from her and lifted it to his lips.

His eyes went wide the second the taste hit his tongue, greedily gulping the rest down in a few quick gulps.

Licking his lips he turned his attention back to her, her eyes blown wide open as her brows drew together while her gaze moved from Will to the glass and back again.

"That had so much vodka in it."

"That was delightful." Will admitted, shaking his head with a wrinkle of his nose at the thickness of his tongue.

She smiled back at him, the actions strained and full of nerves as she busied herself with intertwining her hands.

"Hey," He tried to just tap her shoulder with his hand, but instead ended up nearly falling into her as his seat gave a violent lurch forward. Or maybe that was just his brain, he couldn't tell the difference anymore, "Where's Jeremy?"

Brooke's hands were resting on his shoulders, helping him to sit back up as she looked over the dance floor.

"He said he was going to head to the bathroom and then talk to Micheal about something." She said, her hands not moving away from his shoulders even after he was sitting up. "Are you okay?"

Will gave a slight shake of his head, trying to clear away the dizziness that was crashing into him, but the action only seemed to make it worse, his hand reached up and clung to her shoulder.

"No I..." He trailed off, his body swaying where he sat for a moment before he looked up and locked his eyes with hers. "I think I am very drunk."

A giggle managed to escape pass her lips before she could stop it, and Will gave out a small whine at the mockery before he dropped his head to her shoulder.

"Don't make fun of me." He pouted, his words doing nothing to ease her case of the giggles.

Man, clinging to her was really helping out with his dizziness. With that thought in mind he scooted closer to her, throwing his legs over hers and all but nestling into her. She seemed shocked by this sudden cuddle session, her laughter coming to an abrupt halt but her words sounding no less soft than they always were.

"You really don't drink much do you?" She asked, gently running her fingers through his hair as Will purred at the action.

"No." He muttered truthfully. "'s not good for me."

He was actually surprised that he hadn't started speaking Japanese or glowing or turned his skin blue yet. He supposed thank god for small miracles but even if he had this place seemed like the sort where it wouldn't have been too alarming. He'd seen someone decked out in wings and another person with pink body paint all over them. Nah, they probably would have just thought that he was being enthusiastic.

"Maybe Jeremy should take you home." She offered gently, not seeming too off put to have her personal space invaded in the least.

"Jeremy wants to stay with you." He couldn't keep the bitterness from his words, the petty jealousy from leaking out of his mouth. "He likes you."

He'd seen the way that Jeremy had kept glancing over at Brooke during the competition, and could hear how excited he was to talk to her on their way to the bar. It was the whole reason he'd pulled ahead to leave the two of them alone in the first place. He knew what Jeremy wanted.

And it wasn't him.

The thought made him grit his teeth to keep from screaming, made him screw his eyes shut to keep the burn of them from allowing any loose tears fall. Being around Jeremy hurt, and their every night cuddle session that sometimes went a little further killed him. It sent a tightness around his heart every time he was just standing next to the guy, knowing that he was only doing this in order to keep Will functioning, and not because he had any real attachment to Will at all. It was just a means to an end for him, and Will hated it and yet loved it at the same time.

He knew that it was selfish and wrong, but he loved the moments when he had Jeremy's undivided attention, when the only thing in his world seemed to be Will.

But he couldn't compete with Jeremy's friends, they would always be in Jeremy's heart, and he couldn't compete with Jeremy's school, not when he was learning what he was so passionate about, filling in yet another space. And he could not compete with Brooke. Jeremy was just absolutely smitten with the girl, even if he himself didn't realize it.

And sure, while Jeremy's heart was big, it wasn't nearly that big. There was just no room in it for Will. Not in the way that he wanted anyways.

"Well of course he does sweetie." Brooke cooed, her fingers in his hair doing well to keep Will's mood just a little brighter. "We're friends, but that's all okay?"

"Is that all you want?" Will questioned, finally lifting his head up to look at the stunned look that had overcome her features. "Do you just want to be friends with Jeremy?"

She didn't seem to be able to come up with anything in her defence fast enough, and Will felt as if he had found his answer as he let out a long suffering sigh, dropping his head to her shoulder.

"I don't blame you."

"Will?"

Will gave a low growl, tightening his hold on Brooke as he tossed a look over his shoulder to glare at the one he'd been discussing.

Jeremy's brows were pulled together, his lips forming words with no sound or point before he turned his attention to Brooke.

"Is he drunk?"

"Very much so I believe." Brooke snickered, petting the top of Will's head as if he was some kind of lapdog. He guessed though maybe just this once he'd allow her to get away with it.

Still staring at the other Will watched as Jeremy pinched at the space between his eyes, letting out a long sigh before holding his hand out to Will.

"Okay come on, let's get you home."

But Will didn't want to go home yet. He just wanted to sit here and pout about the messed up enigma that had become his life. So when Jeremy's hand got close enough, he snapped his teeth at him.

Jeremy let out a squeak, yanking his hand back just in time to escape the sharp teeth before his hand lashed out again and gave a gentle but stern whack to the top of Will's head.

"Hey, don't bite."

"I could say the same to you." Will snapped back, crowing in smug triumph over the blush that quickly raised to Jeremy's cheeks.

"Okay fine." Jeremy muttered, taking a step back while Will narrowed his gaze at him in suspicion. "Guess I'll just leave you here then."

Although he knew that he was being played that didn't stop Will from scrambling out of the booth after him. The second he tried to get to his feet however the world spun around him and he fell forward, Jeremy thankfully caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Oh my god." Will groaned, allowing himself to be pulled upright as Jeremy quickly wrapped an arm around his waist to help him balance. "I am so drunk."

"Yes," Jeremy agreed, taking Will's arm and moving it over his head so it was resting on top of Jeremy's shoulders. "Yes you are. Brooke, I'm taking him home now okay? Would you mind telling the rest of the guys for me please?"

"Not a problem. Good luck! Bye Will! I hope you feel better."

Will grumbled lowly to himself, waving a hand out to her as he allowed himself to be dragged away by Jeremy. It was only once they had made it outside, the chill of the fall air helped to clear his head just the smallest amount that Jeremy let out yet another long sigh.

"Will, you know you're not supposed to drink that much, if at all." He lectured, Will scoffed at his words as he tried to pull away unsuccessfully.

"Just this once. I wanted to see what it felt like." Will mumbled out honestly, his answer catching Jeremy's attention.

"Just this once?" Jeremy echoed, shifting the body in his arms to get a better hold. "Will have you never gone out drinking before?"

Will shook his head, and then instantly regretted it when it just made the world spin that much faster. Ugh, he could not see just why so many people were obsessed with this kind of lifestyle. He was barely making it one night, how on earth could there be people who went out every night or even every weekend? Dear god he just wanted to go home and sleep.

"Wasn't safe." Will mumbled out eventually, leaning more of his weight onto Jeremy as he ran a hand down his face. "Didn't have anyone there to watch out for me."

He shouldn't have been saying any of this. He should have been keeping his mouth shut. He'd been talking a lot tonight. Apparently he was a chatty drunk. Who would have thought?

"Hey Jeremy don't you wanna go back to Brooke?" He suddenly questioned, snapping his head up to stare at Jeremy as intently as he could in his drunken haze. Their faces were so close he just about knocked them together, Jeremy jerked back to keep himself from getting a bloody nose, but Will didn't notice, just blinking up at the other with his bright-blue eyes, waiting for his answer.

"What? No, I've got to make sure that you get home okay." Jeremy sighed, tightening his grip when Will tried to squirm away.

"But your princess..!"

"Is right here in my arms."

Will gasped in scandalized horror at the nickname, Jeremy smirked down at him in triumph as he nuzzled against Will's cheek with his nose.

"I'm kidding Will," he snickered, "but honestly I want to be with you right now. I've had enough of it in there anyway."

Will settled against him, allowing himself to be lead back home, trying his best to keep his feet from dragging on the sidewalk. He didn't want to be too much of a dead weight after all.

They walked in silence like that for a while, neither one of them saying a word as they made their way closer and closer to their home, Will's mind ran a million miles a minute as he tried to sort through everything in his life chronologically, just trying to put all of the dates together. Trying in vain to distract himself from the pleasant feeling of Jeremy's body heat so close to him. Trying to do anything that would turn his mind away from the way that the caring attention made his stomach flutter in a way that he wasn't familiar with.

"Hey Will?" Jeremy's question was met with a small hum as he dropped his head from stargazing to stare at the other. "What happened at the swim meet?"

"No." Will growled, whacking his hand uselessly against Jeremy's chest. "Don't wanna talk about it."

He didn't. He didn't. He didn't. Not right now. Not tomorrow. Maybe not ever.

But he was going to have to, at some point, once he finished doing all of the research. It was going to have to be quick.

"Will..."

"Later." He assured, patting at Jeremy's face lightly, a small smile spreading over his face to help put the guy's mind at ease. "Promise."

Although Jeremy looked as if he didn't want to believe him, he breathed in deeply through his nose and gave a short nod of his head. Will purred, nuzzling his face against Jeremy's as they continued on their way home.

"Thank you Jeremy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So there's drunkish Will for you. Didn't notice it before but he kind of acts like drunk Rich. Chatty and clingy, although he's a lot more clingy than Rich was at the beginning. XD Hope that everyone had a great weekend and will continue to have a great week! :D


	24. Chapter 24

Jeremy's head snapped up from his textbook at the groan that drifted up from behind him. Turning in his chair he winced when Will's body lurched over the side of the bed, anything he'd drank or eaten the night before coming up and spilling into the large bowl that Jeremy had placed there the second he'd woken up. Knowing that there were better things to be doing other than studying at this moment he got up from his seat and slowly made his way to the hunched over form of Will.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Will growled, his head dropping down to face plant the pillow, his arm still hanging off of the end of the bed.

"I think how I am feeling is quite apparent."

Unable to help himself, Jeremy let out a small chuckle, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and gently running his hand up and down Will's back.

"There's a glass of water and some painkillers on the nightstand. Would you like me to grab them for you?"

Will couldn't seem to find it in himself to make another noise, so instead he just nodded his head, his hand moving up to press against his ear as if the sound of Jeremy walking across their carpeted floor was too loud for him to deal with.

Snatching up the few items quickly he made his way back, softly nudging at Will until he rolled over on to his side, holding the items out to him as he waited for the hungover squip to sit up. He couldn't very well have him trying to drink on his back and to accidentally drown himself. Reluctantly Will pulled himself up into a seated position, gratefully taking the pills from Jeremy and popping them in his mouth before taking a hold of the glass and downing the whole thing in two gulps.

"Well, if that's how you drink then I can see how you got drunk so fast." Jeremy chuckled, smiling sheepishly at the glare that he received in return. "Sorry, I'm just teasing."

Will didn't seem to appreciate his well-placed humour, glaring at him as he dropped himself back to rest against the headboard.

"Last night was a mistake." Will muttered, moving his gaze from Jeremy and looking out at the other side of the room.

"I don't know," Jeremy countered, shifting in his seat as he smiled up at the other, "I thought that it was kind of sweet that you allowed yourself to become that undone because you felt safe around us."

His words were greeted with an arched brow. "What on earth are you going on about?"

Jeremy just stared down at him for a moment. Had Will forgotten what he had said last night? Was this supposed to be some kind of hint that he didn't want to talk about it? But why? He'd thought it had been really sweet, and he didn't get anywhere close to the point that Jake and Rich had all those years ago when they had blacked out. Maybe this was just his way of saying that he wasn't ready to admit that to himself or anyone else while he was still sober. Jeremy could respect that. It was a lot to admit to someone when there were barely any people in the world he could call friends.

So Jeremy just shrugged it off, dropping it completely.

"Never mind." He said. "But there is something that I would like to talk to you about."

Will shot him a sidelong gaze, his brows narrowing over his ice-blue eyes, but the image had little effect on Jeremy anymore.

"Just what was it that startled you yesterday?"

"Tch." Will brought his hand up to rub at the space between his eyes, a frown coming to his lips as he turned a glare to Jeremy. "I just woke up."

"Yup." Jeremy grinned as he scooted closer to Will on the bed. "But you really freaked me out. I just... I want to know if you're okay?"

His words seemed to catch Will off-guard, that no doubt being the only reason that his whole body sunk against the bed, a long sigh passing by his lips. "I thought... when we were at the meet I thought that I... saw someone."

"Someone who was after you?"

He knew that he hit the nail on the head when Will paled. Or at least he thought that he had, until Will lurched over the side of the bed again and vomited.

Yikes, he just threw up his medication. Jeremy was going to have to get him some more... and maybe some food to go with it. Nothing too heavy or with too much taste, but something simple, a piece of toast with a light spreading of butter.

Nodding his head to himself Jeremy reached out and ran his hand up Will's back again as he continued to lean over the side of the bed.

"I'm going to get you more medication and something to eat okay? I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

Although Will didn't look like he was in any mood to go anywhere Jeremy was glad that he had given him the order. The last thing he wanted was for Will to try and weasel himself out of the conversation by sneaking out the window. Just to make sure though when he left the room he kept the door open, knowing that his window would screech and alert him if Will did try anything.

This was good. At least this way he would be able to give Will a little bit more time to clear his head before he pounced on him with questions again. He knew that Will hated being questioned, especially about things from his past, but he really needed to know if he was in trouble or not. How on earth was he supposed to help protect Will from a threat if Will didn't warn him that there was one after him in the first place?

But he said that he saw someone. Jeremy thought back to the expression that had been over Will's face, about the way that he had reacted, but he had managed to school himself so well it was hard to pick out just what it was that he was feeling. Really it could have been a number of things. Maybe it was someone who he was close with and excited to see but didn't want to talk about with anyone else. Maybe it was someone who he hated or had a bad run in when he was younger. Maybe it had nothing to do with being a squip or anything like that. Maybe it was someone who had tried to scam him when he was on his own or... Man he was really reaching.

Until Will told him, the only thing that he could do was guess, and as much as he didn't want it to bother him, it really, really did.

With a sigh he made his way into the kitchen, not too surprised to see Rich, Jake, and Christine already there with a plateful of 'hangover food'.

"Hey! Heard you guys left early last night?" Rich said through a mouthful of toast and bacon. "How's Will?"

As if in response to his question, the sound of Will puking floated into the room. Not knowing what else to add to that Jeremy snatched up a few pieces of toast that sat on a plate in the middle of the table.

"I have to get him more medicine and water." Jeremy shrugged. "I'm hoping that if he has something to eat it might help him keep his food down."

"Seems like a good idea to me." Christine said, "Need help with anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thank you though." He grinned, nodding in acknowledgement to his best friend.

Speaking of best friends...

"Where's Micheal?"

"Still sleeping." Rich snickered. "After we got home he 'just had to be the next level in Prom Knight' and only got to bed about an hour ago."

"I got dragged into playing with him." Jake said, his face showing just how dead inside he was at this current moment.

Jeremy winced for him, unable to help the small smile on his face. "And you're still up?"

"I promised Christine that we would go to a yoga class today." Jake groaned.

"I told him we didn't need to go, but Jakey likes to keep his promises." Christine said, smiling softly at Jake as she reached out her hand and took a hold of his.

"Anything for you." Jake grinned back, willing to put in the effort even though he was basically the equivalent of the walking dead himself.

Jeremy continued to talk with them as he finished picking up the rest of the items that he needed. Only once he got everything did he bother heading back to the room, pausing in the doorway to see Will frozen in place with his hands on the window.

An awkward silence fell over them as they just stared at one another, Will being the first to break it as he slowly slid it open.

"I just wanted some fresh air."

It was only when Will padded back over to the bed that Jeremy felt himself relax and able to believe the other.

"Here. You should eat this." He said, holding out the plate with two pieces of golden toast resting on it. "After you're done with that swallow these and drink this." Placing the medicine and the cup on the nightstand Jeremy took a seat back on the bed, watching Will eat before he decided to ask his question again. "So, who did you think you saw?"

Will glared at him from over his slice, purposely taking a large bite in order to give himself more time to chew and to further postpone the answer. Jeremy didn't balk, Will was going to run out of food at some point and then he was going to have to talk.

Will managed to get through one piece before he became bored with his own tactic, rolling his eyes before dropping the second piece back on his plate.

"I thought I saw... one of the original squips."

To that Jeremy could do nothing other than arch a brow. He had no idea just what that could mean, or if it was good or bad news.

"So... you thought you saw...?"

"One of the Squips from the first few generations ever created." Will simplified. "They are older than we are and they were some of the... more ruthless models. Let us just say that when they were placed in the public, things never ended well."

"What happened?" This was interesting, and he couldn't believe that Will was talking about it so freely with him.

"It... it does not matter right now." Will muttered, shutting himself down as he gave a small wave of his hand. "I do not even know if it was really him, and that is something I have to be absolutely sure of before I do anything."

"If it was him should we not be worried?" Jeremy asked, feeling a small source of dread welling up inside of him. "I mean, didn't you say that they were dangerous?"

"You met one of the original members on the first night you found me Jeremy, what do you think?" Will snapped, turning his attention back to the toast, picking it up and tearing it into little pieces.

"She was fucking terrifying." Jeremy still had nightmares about her. She'd been like a woman possessed, like a real life version of the terminator.

Yeah, he definitely felt that they should be hiding right now.

"Why the hell aren't you freaking out?"

"Because he acts alone, and if he wanted us dead we would already have disappeared off this earth without a trace. But honestly we should be fine. He wants nothing to do with the others, and even less to do with me as he has made very obvious over the years."

The blandness in his words, the utter fact behind them, was enough to make Jeremy's blood run cold.

"Well..." What was he supposed to say? Will basically just said that they were sitting ducks. What else could he ask that they could do? "I thought that you hid yourself from them?"

At that Will sighed, his hands coming up to press his palms against his eyes as he gave a low growl.

"He is... like Jenna, he can pinpoint my location quite effortlessly." Will grumbled, dropping his hand to glare up at the ceiling.

"Wait, what? I thought you said that only Jenna could pinpoint the locations of other squips." Jeremy said, getting more and more confused as they continued on.

"Jenna can find any Squip. He can only find me." Will spat out, his face twisting into one of disgust.

Jeremy stayed silent for a long time, wondering just what one earth he was going on about and what it could mean. How could it be that an 'original model' as Will put it, was able to track him with ease? Wasn't that something they said that Jenna had been made for? And if they had that type of technology back then, then why wouldn't they add it to all of their squips rather than just a few? It seemed like a handy little trick to have.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand..."

"His name is Jason Dean." Will snapped. "And he is basically my father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So before anyone goes, 'wait I though Squips were made not born', just know that it will be explained in the next chapter. :)


	25. Chapter 25

Jeremy could have sworn that his mind short-circuited for a moment at the words that had slipped out of Will's mouth.

"I'm sorry. What? Did you say that..?"

"Not like... a father, father." Will muttered, with a hiss. "He's... they wanted to see... ugh."

Jeremy just watched as Will dropped his head back, his hand coming up to cover his eyes as he breathed in deeply through his nose. Not knowing what else to do he continued to stare at Will intensely. He had no idea just what to make of this situation. Squips could have parents? How on earth..? He'd thought that they said that they were created in a lab in synthetic wombs. Where on earth did another squip come into play with that?

"I am far too hungover for this conversation right now." Will muttered, rolling over and burying his face into his pillow. "We can continue this conversation later."

"But Will I..."

"Later or not at all." Will growled, Jeremy's mouth snapped shut at the threat behind the words. "Just," his temper seemed to have cooled in those few moments, inhaling deeply as he pulled the blankets over his head, "give me some time to think it through and figure some things out Jeremy."

He really didn't want to drop it. He would have much rather preferred to continue with the conversation, but he was starting to learn quick that there were times when it was better to let Will think on his thoughts and get them properly sorted before questioning him. Besides, Jeremy could sympathize trying to figure out difficult conversations while terribly hungover. It sucked ass.

"Okay." He reached out, softly running his hand over Will's shoulder before he gave it a gentle squeeze and moved away from the bed. "Sleep well Will."

Will didn't say anything, but Jeremy wasn't expecting him to as he silently closed the door.

As he walked over to the table the only one left was Rich, Jake and Christine apparently already off to their yoga class in the short amount of time that he and Will had spent talking. When he took his seat Rich eyed him warily, his brows narrowing over his chocolate coloured orbs that flashed blue for a moment before they returned to normal.

"What happened?"

Jeremy gave a shrug, plucking a piece of bacon off of the plate and slowly nibbling on it as he tried to think about just what he could tell Rich. Will had promised that he would go over everything with him when he was feeling better, but in the same breath Rich would probably know who this Dean Jason guy was and he might like to know if he was hanging around.

"Ever heard of a squip named Dean Jason?"

The second the name slipped passed his lips he could see Rich pale. It was as if all of the colour had been leached out of his face as he just sat there, staring at Jeremy.

"Did you mean, Jason Dean?" He asked, a light switching in Jeremy's head as he blinked at the other.

"Oh yea. Sorry, guess I got them mixed up."

Although from Rich's reaction Jeremy was just starting to feel worse and worse. Will hadn't seemed too worried, but then again he had told Jeremy that the guy was ruthless and who knew just what that could mean coming from Will. What if this guy was really bad news?

"Shit." When Rich jerked out of his seat Jeremy's hand whipped out, grabbing a hold of his wrist and bringing him to a stop.

"Don't." His voice was hard as he spoke to the other, a tone he would never dare use with Rich before. "Will is really not feeling well and he's trying to sleep."

"Like I care." Rich snapped, attempting to pull his hand away. "If JD is around here we need to think of something and..."

"And what?" Jeremy interrupted. "Will is useless to us right now. Running in there and yelling at him won't fix anything and it wouldn't solve our problem any quicker. Let him sleep for at least three hours. In the meantime you can fill me in on what I need to know about this guy, or squip or whatever."

Rich didn't seem to like the idea, still fuming as he finally managed to rip his hand away, but he didn't leave, instead taking his seat back at the table with a huff.

"Fine." He grumbled, dropping his chin in his hand as he glared up at Jeremy. "What do you want to know?"

"Will said that Jason is basically his father..?"

At this Rich snorted, his eyes closing briefly as he gave a shake of his head. "More like a glorified sperm donor, and trust me, he wasn't too willing about it."

Okay, well at least that was something, and he supposed it made sense. As modified as they were squips were still human to a point. It was no doubt possible that they could... make that type of body fluid. He hadn't seen it himself of course but there had to be something that made Will...

Face flushing suddenly Jeremy tried to cover it up by coughing awkwardly into his hand, crossing his legs over top of each other as he shifted slightly in his seat. He really needed to focus on this right now and not allow his thoughts to stray to other... things...

"So, he just..." making a vague gesture with his hand Jeremy arched a brow at Rich who only raised his brows in return. "And then what? Put it in a synthetic womb and nine months later baby Will pops out?"

"Four months actually." Rich muttered with a careless shrug. "Our bodies grow a lot quicker during that process than humans do. After that we age just like anyone else."

Huh, well that was also good to know he guessed. Not really helpful in any sense of the word but it was still pretty cool to know.

"Okay... what was the whole thought behind using squips to make squips?"

Rich's gaze darted over to Jeremy's and Will's room, his lips pressing to the side for a moment as his brows furrowed. Jeremy could feel a cold bead of sweat slide down his back as he waited to see just what it was that Rich had to say. He could only hope that all of his questions weren't pushing Rich into silence. Only hope that Rich was still going to be willing to fill him in on squip info. He didn't want him to start clamming up, didn't want him to become like Jake and Will. He couldn't figure this stuff out on his own. He needed someone to tell him just what the hell was going on.

Thankfully however before he could get too worried, Rich let out a long sigh, turning his attention back to Jeremy as he pressed his hands flat on the table.

"They were hoping to be able to create a strong, more resilient type of squip, as well as to see if there was any possible way for us to reproduce on our own. They had mixed feelings on that. You know they thought that it would be useful but at the same time didn't want us breeding out of control or anything. Once Will was created they disabled the fertile function in all of us. They had no idea if it would work between two squips or a human and a squip but they didn't want us to have any kids that they didn't approve of. Will was their test subject to see how well it worked and just what one would be able to do."

Jeremy didn't know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut, his eyes not able to tear themselves away from Rich as he spoke.

He didn't know what to think. Didn't know just what he could say or if there was anything that would be appropriate. He couldn't imagine how that would feel. To have people that could hold that kind of power over someone. People who could somehow control abilities to have kids or not. He didn't even want to think about squips who might have been dating. Didn't want to think of the life they might have planned with each other, the dreams that they might have had to one day leave that place and to start a family. He didn't want to think about just how crushed they would have been to have that dream snuffed out, or the brutal way they were snuffed out in the end as well for nothing more than being someone their creator didn't want.

"But it's probably for the best." Rich said, dropping his gaze to the table with a frown as he mindlessly traced his fingers over the grain. "Apparently squips aren't very good parents. We see our offspring as a virus and try to get rid of them. Jason spent years trying to kill Will, it got to the point where they had to separate Will from the rest of the group. When Jason wasn't trying to kill him the rest of the older Squips were trying. I think it was to gain his favour or something but honestly JD's the most anti-social squip you will ever meet. That didn't stop him from using the others to get what he wanted though so..."

Oh.

Oh shit.

Jumping to his feet Jeremy darted back over to his room and threw the door open as quietly as he could. The tightness around his heart seemed to ease at the soothing sight of Will sleeping, lightly snoring as he laid cuddled in the blankets. Unable to help the small smile from twitching at the corners of his lips Jeremy tiptoed his way over to the window and closed it as softly as he could. Putting the lock in place he made his way over to the bed, fixing the sheets around Will and placing a gentle kiss to his forehead, earning himself a small purr and a faint, sleepy smile as he pulled back. Deciding to take the bucket as well he carefully picked it up from the floor, leaving the door open a crack this time just in case.

"One second Rich."

He passed by the table, ignoring the look Rich shot at him as he made his way to the bathroom, dumping out the bucket, rinsing it, and dumping it again. Finished with that he travelled back to the kitchen, placing the bucket in the sink and then taking his seat again.

"Sorry about that."

"What the hell were you doing?" Rich asked, propping his chin up on his hand.

With a shrug of his own shoulders, Jeremy could feel the heat coming to his cheeks again. "Well, you know if this Jason guy is around here and he's a threat to Will then I thought it would be safer if my bedroom window was closed. I mean I know it wouldn't stop the guy from coming in or anything but at least this way it would make some sort of noise and we could react to it a lot quicker. And Will only wanted the window open because the room smelt bad from him being sick but I got rid of that so he should be okay now."

There was a stretch of silence, and then Rich burst out into laughter.

Jeremy flinched from the sudden noise, but was quick to reach across the table to clamp his hand down over Rich's mouth, hoping against hope that the guy hadn't just woken up Will. Rich on the other hand didn't seem to appreciate the fact that he was being silenced, and Jeremy ripped his hand back in disgust when Rich licked at his palm.

"Ew! Dude gross!" Jeremy grumbled, his face pinching up as Rich smirked up at him.

"That's what you get for trying to silence the great Richard Goranski."

Supposing that maybe he did deserve that one Jeremy didn't say anything, wanting to reach out and whack the guy on the nose like he did with Will but not wanting to risk getting his hand bitten off.

"Seriously though, it's cute how much you guys watch out for each other." Rich added, his smirk taming down into a soft smile.

"As much as I know that we don't really get along I think that you've been good for Will."

The soft admission made Jeremy's heart flutter, his face lighting up bright red before he could even think to hide it. Unable to keep looking into the honesty in Rich's gaze he dropped his eyes to the table as if he suddenly found the patterns on it to be very interesting.

"So...um, what do we do about JD?"

At the reminder of why they were speaking in the first place any light that had been across Rich's face was snuffed out. With a long sigh he sunk back into his seat, crossing his arms and giving a jerky shrug of his shoulders.

"Honestly I don't know. I haven't seen the guy in years and I have no idea just what it is he would be doing here but..." He trailed off for a moment, his brows drawing together as he tried to think through just what it was that he wanted to say.

"There's really nothing we can do. Sure we're the more advanced ones, but JD's a lot stronger and he's had a lot more time to figure this stuff out. The only thing that I can really think of is that me and Jake are going to have to start training Christine and Micheal the way that Will is training you."

Jeremy went cold.

The idea of his friends going up against someone that even Will was afraid of didn't sit right. He didn't want to drag them into this. He didn't want them to have even the smallest possibility of getting hurt. This wasn't something that he wanted them to get involved in, it would be safer for them if they could just stay out of it.

"Um, I don't think I want to tell them." Jeremy mumbled, giving a slow shake of his head. "JD would be here for Will right? So this is our problem and it will be our fight if it comes to blows. I don't want them to get dragged into the middle of it and get hurt."

For a long moment, Rich said nothing, just sat there staring up at Jeremy with an almost eerie sort of blank look over his features. As time dragged on Jeremy could feel the sweat gathering on his brow, and he could only hope that he didn't break down in front of the guy as he swallowed passed his dry throat.

"You know," Rich finally muttered his sudden voice making Jeremy jump, "that's just how Will felt about telling you anything. He thought that the more you knew the more danger you'd be in. I had to be the one to tell him how stupid that was and to show him just what it was doing to you guys."

The blood drained from his face at the comparison.

Had Will really felt that way? While Jeremy knew that Will didn't want to get him involved and didn't want him to worry was it really that he was also worried for Jeremy's safety? Did he try to handle everything on his own so that Jeremy wouldn't have to fight alongside him?

"Don't you think it's kind of unfair for you to do the same thing to your friends when you know how it feels to be left in the dark?" Rich asked. "Besides, would it not be better if they knew so that they could get prepared? Nothing's worse than the shock of finding out that someone's trying to kill you."

Kill?

Jeremy paled, his hand coming up to his mouth as he tried to calm the sudden twist in his stomach.

Will had told him that it would be fine, and although Jeremy was starting to learn more and more horrifying things about this guy, for some reason the idea of him wanting to kill them had completely slipped his mind. What if his friends died while trying to help out? What if this JD guy then went on to trying to murder their entire school? Just how many people would die if JD did decide that he didn't want Will around anymore? Rich had said that they saw their own children as viruses, would he see anything that Will involved himself in as a virus? Could this have been another reason that Will tried to separate himself so much? Not just to draw the fire and to protect his friends, but because he didn't want to give his father another target to turn to?

"Jeremy." The stern voice drew him away from his thoughts, forcing him to meet the gaze of Rich as he reached across the table and wrapped his strong fingers around Jeremy's wrist. "This is only a worst-case scenario. It could be something that never happens. I just want to make sure that we're all ready for it if it heads that way."

Although he was sure that those words were meant to be comforting, Jeremy couldn't find it in him to agree too much as he gave a single nod of his head. His flimsy agreement seemed to soothe Rich though, earning him a solid pat on his shoulder before the squip drew back.

"I'll let Micheal know what's going on the moment that he's awake, and I'll tell Jake and Christine as well once they get back. This is something that everyone needs to know if it could turn out to be JD and he becomes our problem." Rich said. "I think you should stay with Will for now. You're not going to be any help to any of us until he's awake."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jeremy grumbled, even so still standing to head back to his room. He's been paying attention the whole time, he knew what was going on and what the consequences would be if things went sour. He hadn't just been making Rich talk for his own amusement.

But Rich didn't say anything, simply waving him off as he got up and moved towards the kitchen to clean the leftovers from breakfast.

Deciding to drop it for now Jeremy did as he was told. He wouldn't admit it but he was kind of glad that Rich had sent him back. He really didn't want to spend any longer than he had to away from Will. Closing the door softly behind himself he took a moment to just stare at the sleeping peaceful squip in his bed.

He didn't know just what he would do if he lost Will. Even if he hadn't really known the guy that long he...

Pushing the thought away from his head with a sigh Jeremy made his way over to the bed, carefully lifting himself over Will and filling in the space behind him. Not even seconds after he'd laid down did Will turn, snuggling up to him in his sleep as Jeremy automatically dropped his hand to run soothingly up and down the other's back.

Feeling the small but solid body under his fingertips Jeremy couldn't help but wonder just how Will felt about this whole thing. His father, his own flesh and blood had tried to kill him when he was younger. He'd been locked away in isolation when they couldn't protect him. He'd nearly been killed by the very people who created him. He'd spent his whole life alone and probably afraid and hunted.

As he stared down at the powerful being in his arms he gently trailed his fingers down the side of his cheek, smiling at the small purr he got in return for his actions. It was at that moment that Jeremy made his decision.

Fuck whatever might end up coming their way. Jeremy wasn't going anywhere. He didn't care if Will was going to have a problem with it or not. He would stand by his side through hell and high water. Till death do them part.

If that JD guy or any other squip wanted to try and hurt Will, they'd have to go through Jeremy first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So yeah, you guys don't get to meet JD for another few chapters yet but he is coming up! :D  
> You know ever since I first listened to BMC and read the book they always mention other Squips and past versions and I've always kind of had this thought that maybe JD took one because he thought it would help him feel better or give him someone to talk to (because you know they move all of the time and the poor boy has no friends) and than it just ends up driving him crazy. XD I mean Squip in the musical talks about discontinuing the Red Mountain Dew in the 1990's, so that would mean that there were Squips out there before that, and HEATHERS takes place in the late 1980's so... hey, make of it what you will but I always thought it matched up pretty well. :)


	26. Chapter 26

Even though it had been hours later, Will still looked like he was about to keel over and die. Thankfully Rich had done as he said he would, informing everyone about what was going on and telling them just what it was that could end up happening. But after that there wasn't much that they could do without Will to lead them.

Rich and Jake were both squips and had hosts, but they hadn't been living as squips for years. They were rusty and mostly cut off from their hosts, they had no idea just what they were doing when it came to anything else outside of a weak emotional connection. Will was the only one who would be able to help them out with the next part. With the actual training and fighting and the whole survival aspect of what they had to get ready for next.

So, reluctantly, Jeremy had to drag Will out of bed and into their backyard, not for the first time thankful for the fence that covered both sides of their place to block them off from their neighbours while still leaving the back woods open. Will was muttering lowly to himself, his hand rubbing up and down his face as the others finished filing outside. Only once they were all there did he drop his hand, crossing his arms over his chest, his brows furrowed and his lips turned up in a scowl as Jeremy stood next to his side.

"If I am going to be completely honest, I do not think that Jason Dean will pose a threat to us." Will muttered, his sharper than normal tone making Jeremy bite back on a snicker. His hangover must have been killing him. "However, the idea of teaching you all how to properly work together is excellent. There is no telling just when it might come in useful in the future."

You okay Will?

I feel like I am dying.

Jeremy had to turn his head away, his hand coming up to slap over his mouth and muffle his laughter as Will took a step towards the group.

"Now, if you will, I would like you all to turn towards the trees." No one protested, doing as they were told without much of a thought. "Thank you, now, Richard, Jacob," At the sounds of their names, both squips turned their heads to face him, and Jeremy could never remember a time when they had looked so serious. "I am going to show you what I'm looking for, I want you all to watch carefully, but Richard and Jacob I want you to pay attention to Jeremy. You are not use to drawing much energy from your hosts and I am afraid that you might take too much in one go. Jeremy be ready."

Knowing the drill by now Jeremy prepared himself for the feeling he knew would be hitting him soon enough. He stayed focused, Will raised his hand towards the trees, blue lightning already dancing around his fingertips. Not even a moment later and the power darted forward, the energy being ripped from Jeremy like a punch to the stomach. It was only because he was ready for it that he didn't double over or fall to his knees.

The current scorched the tree, Will not even using a tenth of what his power could do in his example as he turned back to the others.

"I do not want you to try and use as much power as you can. I want you to control it and to just hit the tree." Will told them, walking back over to Jeremy's side. "Talk to each other too. You will need to check up on your host constantly until you get better at it. Also make sure that you are feeling out the connection that you have. Talk to each other telepathically and feel for their emotions and their energy levels. Me and Jeremy will be over there, watching."

He didn't protest to the idea as he followed behind Will, both of them stopping by the back door and turning back to watch the others.

"You don't think that we should be closer?" Jeremy asked, gesturing to the others as Micheal tossed him a look over his shoulder.

"I would end up distracting them." Will said. "Richard and Jacob would be too worried about me watching them and they would forget to put their full effort and attention into Micheal and Christine which could end up hurting your friends. This way I can still watch how they are progressing without them feeling as if I am breathing down their necks."

Jeremy nodded his head in understanding, turning his attention back towards his friends. Jake and Christine were facing each other, whispering back and forth for a moment before giving a nod of their heads and stepping away, hands still intertwined as Jake turned to the tree. Rich and Micheal on the other hand looked as if they were pumping each other up, Rich's brows furrowed in concentration while Micheal rested both of his hands on his shoulders, Rich nodding along enthusiastically to whatever it was he was saying.

"You know Jeremy, I am rather impressed with your progress." Will's compliment seemed to come out of nowhere, catching him off-guard as he turned his attention away from the group and to his squip. "I drew more power from you than I normally would have today, and you barely even flinched."

Oh. He'd been wondering why it felt that way. It was normal for him to be left winded or slightly short of air when Will drew energy from him so he'd thought he'd been getting better at it or at the very least that maybe taking a few days off had set him back. Thankfully that wasn't the case and he couldn't help the small twitch at the corners of his lips.

"Really?"

"Yes. This means that I will be able to up the intensity of your training." At that Jeremy felt as if someone had dropped a rock on his head, Will's smirk not helping his mood any as he tilted his head towards him. "What? Did you think it would only get easier? I am sorry to say that it never gets easier, you just have to push yourself harder."

Pouting as Jeremy grumbled to himself about the unfairness of the situation Will turned his attention back towards the rest of the group, every once and a while calling out tips or mistakes. Jeremy knew that this lesson wasn't going to last very long. The most he had managed when he'd done his first round with Will was almost thirty minutes. As it stood now it had barely passed ten and already Micheal and Christine looked as if they were about to fall right over.

Although he pitied his friends and what they were being dragged into, he couldn't help but notice just how satisfied they looked whenever Rich or Jake managed to land their hits. It was kind of cute in a way, and he supposed that if it wasn't lightning dancing from their fingertips he could almost pretend that they were all just training for some type of group sporting event or something.

But as the thoughts of this JD guy came back and everything that Rich had said about him, Jeremy once again found his attention being pulled towards Will.

It didn't take very long for Will to notice, no doubt feeling the burn of the eyes on him, turning his head to face Jeremy with an arched brow.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Will seemed shocked by his words, but Jeremy himself was a little surprised that they slipped out as well. For a long moment nothing but silence stretched out between them, neither one knowing what to say to that as they stood there looking at one another. It was only after he couldn't take it anymore that Jeremy let out a long sigh, his hand coming up to rub at his forehead briefly before dropping next to his side.

"I'm sorry about your dad... or like, about JD. Rich told me about the whole," waving his hand around he tried to come up with a word for the situation, but nothing sounded right and breeding experiment sounded way too harsh, "thing." he finished lamely, hating himself for it but pushing forward anyways. "I can't imagine how you must have felt about it. It must have been lonely."

"What exactly did Richard tell you?" Will muttered, his eyes narrowing sharply as he took Jeremy in.

"About how they just wanted to see if squips had the ability to reproduce. About how, apparently, squips don't make good parents because they try to kill off their offspring. About how you had to be isolated from the rest of your group so that you wouldn't be killed."

"Richard." Will hissed under his breath, glaring over at his best friend with such heat that Jeremy was surprised that he didn't just burst into flames. "It does not matter." He added, his arms tightening across his chest, his back somehow becoming even straighter than it already was. "What is done is done and you do not gain anything from thinking on the past." He grumbled, Jeremy's lips pressed into a flat line as he continued to stare.

After a while his staring seemed to get to the other, Will let out a low growl seconds before turning on him, a seething glare settled on his face as he snarled at him.

"What!?"

But Jeremy didn't know how to say it. Didn't know how to apologize to him for what he had gone through for the curiosity of others. Had the people who decided to do this even thought it out? Had they even cared about just how he was going to feel about the whole thing?

Way back in high school it was no secret that both Rich and Jake were foster kids. They didn't care to tell anyone, but they never hid it either, and Jeremy had never felt that it was his place to ask just what had happened to their parents and they never brought it up. And although it had been a few weeks and they had told him just how they were born, or really made, Jeremy had never given it much thought with everything else that was going on at the time.

Now, the reality of it smacked him clear across the face.

None of them had parents. They'd never known a mother's love or a father's safety. They had never had any type of family guide at all. For all Jeremy knew they were just created and then made for the entertainment of scientists who had then tried to kill them off and had never fully explained what they were meant to do in the first place. Did Will even care about the fact that technically this guy was his father? And that his father might want him dead? Did he even really see him that way in the first place? Did he maybe feel guilty over the fact that he had something that both Rich and Jake and who knows how many others didn't have and that he hated it?

Just how was he supposed to move forward in this situation? How was he supposed to express his sympathy to the guy when he wasn't even sure that he wanted it in the first place? Would it just leave Will to take offence? Would it matter to him? Sure while he seemed annoyed and kind of pissed, how did he feel knowing that he was the only squip that had a parent? How did he feel knowing that, that his parent never wanted him in the first place?

So Jeremy didn't say anything, choosing to drop the topic as he gave a shrug of his shoulders and turned back to their group.

"I was just thinking of what a baby Will would look like." He lied, earning him a sideways glare from the other.

It was obvious that he was lying, but Will didn't call him out on it, turning back to the group as he gave a large roll of his eyes.

"Don't focus on such useless things Jeremy. I want you to watch your friends. Make sure that they are doing okay."

Without pressing the conversation any further, Jeremy gave a nod of his head and turned his mind back to their training.

(***)

"Oh...my...god." Micheal panted, sitting on the grass and heaving down large gulps of air, Christine sat next to his side, struggling to hold herself up with her hands. "Is this what you've been doing out here with Will? This is...this is hell."

Jeremy couldn't find the energy in himself to laugh, barely able to keep himself standing even with his hands propped up on his knees.

After watching for the first fifteen minutes Will hadn't been able to stand there in silence anymore and had dragged Jeremy into fighting along with the rest of them. Although Jeremy hadn't minded, Will had been pushing him harder than the rest, always encouraging him to do better, leaving Jeremy just as tired and winded as the rest of his friends, if not more so.

The squips on the other hand seemed fine. Rich even appeared to be buzzing on energy as if he'd down three Redbulls in the time span of two minutes. Apparently he needed to learn how to release the energy from himself better, keeping way too much of it locked in his body after taking it from Micheal.

Jake however had done really well, being careful about just how much he was taking from Christine while at the same time able to pass out the right amount of energy to get the job done. By the end of it they had even managed to drill a hole about the size of a quarter straight through the thick maple.

Will had been highly impressed by that.

While Jeremy and the other two hosts sprawled themselves out over the grass, Will and the other squips stood a fair distance away, Will going over what they had done right and what they had done wrong throughout everything. Jeremy honestly had no idea just when he'd been paying them any attention but Will was laying out such fine details that he couldn't help but be impressed with his ability to multitask.

But he could be more enthralled by that later. Right now all he really wanted to do was crawl back into the house and eat junk food until he felt like he was going to puke and binge watch netflix. He wasn't sure if they had anything else planned however, or if Will was going to make them go through a whole workout or if they were off the hook.

"It's a good thing that they say that real fights only last a few minutes. I don't think I would be able to survive a whole battle like this." Christine admitted, pushing herself back to her heels as she turned to look at Jeremy, a tired little smile settled over her lips. "I feel like I've just gone through three hours of straight HITT training."

Unable to help himself he scoffed a little at her, nodding his head in agreement before dropping it to his chest while he continued to breath.

"You know, I'm not sure what kind of classes Will's taking," Micheal said, slowly pushing himself back onto his feet, "but he should seriously think of doing something in fitness. He'd be great at it."

"Could you imagine?" Jeremy snickered, his eyes darting over to make sure that the other three weren't paying them any attention. "Just think of him wearing those outfits from the really old workout videos."

"Like the aerobics ones?" Christine said, her face brightening at the very thought. "With the neon colours?"

"And the leg warmers?" Micheal put in, his cheeks already puffing up with the effort not to laugh.

"And the leotards and spandex?"

"'Ready ladies? And one, and two." Christine shouted out gleefully, clapping in time with the numbers.

"They could call it Wiggling Will's Workouts."

And just like that, they all lost it.

Their exhaustion from before was forgotten in bellows of laughter, the idea too much for them to take as they doubled over again, their arms wrapped around their stomachs at the absurd idea.

The outburst drew the others' attention, the squips stopping in their conversation to raise questioning brows at their hosts as they slowly made their way over.

"What are you guys giggling about over here?" Jake asked, reaching out his hand to help Christine to her feet as she continued to let out adorable bouts of snickers.

"Nothing!" Jeremy was quick to try and stop the conversation before it could begin. The last thing that he wanted to do was for Will to push him harder out of spite, or for payback.

"Well that is a lie." Will pointed out blandly, crossing his arms over his chest and arching a brow at Jeremy as if that would break his silence.

And goddammit if it didn't almost work.

But Jeremy stayed strong.

Refusing to break he met Will's stare with his own dopey little grin, reaching out and grabbing a hold of Will's wrist to tug him closer. He liked having Will close.

"It's nothing important, trust me."

Although Will didn't look like he wanted to, he let the conversation drop, allowing Jeremy to move his hand from his wrist to drape over his shoulders while he turned to the rest of the group.

"I think that this will do for now. You at least have an understanding and everyone will need to rest up a bit before we continue. I will make us some lunch and then we can work on mending the telepathic bridges between you."

"Yes! Food!" Rich cheered throwing his fists up in the air and moving towards the house.

As the rest of the group followed behind him Jeremy pulled Will back a bit, moving his mouth next to the other's ear as he softly whispered to him.

"Just so you know, I think you would look great in spandex."

Without saying a thing to explain himself he dropped his arm from Will and moved forward, unable to help the small smirk that came to his face at the confused and flustered noise Will let out in his shock.

It was nice to get the drop on him every once and awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: I admit it's super weird to go back and read these chapters when I'm working on chapter 38. XD But alas! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :D


	27. Chapter 27

"Richard if I may have a word?"

When Richard finally managed to pull his doe eyes away from Micheal's face, Will arched a brow at him, telling him without words just what kind of word he wanted to have. He took a step back, already moving towards the backyard as Richard excused himself from the round of cards he had been playing to follow after him.

Although Will was trying to keep his cool, he really didn't want anyone to burst out and jump to Richard's defence until after he killed him, he was seething on the inside. The blond's foot had barely managed to pass the doorway before Will slid it shut with a snap, levelling a glare at the other as he let out a long sigh and dropped his head back.

"God, I knew you were going to chew me out for telling Jeremy."

Will didn't say anything, instead taking the time to cross his arms over his chest and narrow his glare at his friend. Richard wasn't affected though, his cheeks puffing up as he straightened himself out and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Well, what's done is done, it's not like I can go into the past and change it. Bygones?"

"You scared Jeremy." Will grumbled, his hands tightening across his chest as he thought of the look that had passed over his host's face once he'd heard. "I wanted to be able to explain the situation to him before you blew things out of proportion."

"'Blew things out of proportion'?" Richard repeated, a tone of disbelief covering his tone. "Are you serious? Will, he just about tore you limb from limb when you were eight. The docs had to sew you back together."

"As you say, that is in the past." Will hissed. "I showed you the last iteration we had together, we were fine."

"Will, he said he hoped that you would die soon. He left you bleeding out in a ditch for god's sake." Richard snapped, his observations only grating on Will's nerves.

"Yes, but he was not the one who put me there." Noticing that he was starting to lose his grip on his temper he took in a deep breath. Bringing his hand up he rubbed at his eyelids as he tried to think through another way that they could speak about this without either of them ripping each other into pieces. "Jason Dean has not been a threat to me for years."

"You were freaked out at the swim meet Will." He gritted his teeth against the blunt point out, dropping his hand back to his side.

"Yes well, just because I said he is no longer a threat does not mean that I have forgotten all of the years that he was. It is a normal, knee jerk reaction." He grumbled. "He caught me unawares. It will not happen again now that I know that he is around the area."

"And just why is he here hm?"

At that Will couldn't find an answer. Honestly he'd been trying to think about just what this school could offer to someone like Jason Dean. He'd never made his hatred of educational places a secret, he'd brutally murdered at least three of his classmates the first time they tried to place him in a school and nearly blew the building up with everyone inside. The last place that Will figured that he would ever bother with would be here. So just what was it that he wanted?

Sure while he could track Will down with ease, he had no reason to. They had parted ways for good the last time they had met, so there was no way that he could have been here for Will. If he was here for him though then why hadn't he approached him yet? It made no sense. He wasn't the type to just lurk about in the shadows, he took action. He set his sights on something and nothing could tear him away from it until his goal was accomplished.

But Will hadn't heard anything from him. He'd been reaching out the whole day to different school sources as well and no one had mentioned anything sinister happening.

Just what was he playing at?

"I do not have an answer for you." Will admitted reluctantly. "But believe me when I tell you that if you try to strike at him first you will lose. If Jason Dean has not lashed out at anyone yet then chances are he is not going to. If he is here for another reason then he may seek me out or he may not. I highly doubt he even knows that either you or Jacob are here. It is best just to let the situation go by itself and see what happens."

Richard didn't seem to like his answer. His face scrunched up as if he'd eaten some sour fruit as the words washed over him. For a long moment he didn't say anything, his lips pressed into a line so thin they just about disappeared.

"What if we don't attack first and he waits for our hosts to be alone and he..?"

"If he so much as touches one hair on Jeremy's head," Will snapped suddenly, his lips pulling back in a snarl at the very thought, "then I will tear him apart and shove his intestines down his throat."

He was panting, his heart hammering hard and the very blood in his veins shaking as his body trembled in rage. Just the thought of Jason doing something to Jeremy, of him hunting him down, of him hurting Jeremy the way that he had lashed out at Will for all of those years... It filled him with such a blinding rage that he almost forgot where he was, almost couldn't see where he was passed the red mist that had started to cover his gaze.

It was the hand on his shoulder, the gentle press of fingers that drew him back. That reminded him that it was his best friend standing before him and not the threat that he sometimes still had nightmares about.

Unsure of just where that had come from he tried to blink himself back into focus. Tried to pull himself together enough to shake out the anger that had wrapped around him all too easily.

Raising his fist to his lips he let out a small cough, clearing his throat as he stalled a little bit more to collect his thoughts.

"I do apologize." He said, his gaze for once unable to meet with Richard's own. "I do not know what came over me."

Richard didn't say anything, didn't press for answers or ask stupid questions. Instead he waited in silence, both of their minds drifting for a moment as they realized that soon their time would be up. No doubt the rest of the group would start to wonder where they had went, or at least, where Richard had gone. Will was pretty sure that most of the time none of them cared much where he went off too.

"You know, I'm sorry too Will." Richard eventually sighed, finally able to draw Will's gaze back to his face. "You're right. I shouldn't have mentioned anything to Jeremy. Or at the very least I shouldn't have told him so much, it wasn't my place to do so."

"You just did what you thought was right." Will said, a small shrug lifting his shoulders as he spoke. "I suppose I can not fault you for that. Besides," He continued, "I can sometimes be a little... reluctant to give up information. It is probably for the best that I leave it up to you to tell Jeremy certain facts."

"I'm pretty sure I'm his walking, talking encyclopedia when it comes to squips." Richard scoffed, moving closer and throwing his arm around Will's shoulders. "That's something I really should work on with you though. I keep telling you, communication."

"Yes, yes."

But it had always been his weak spot. Just how on earth was he supposed to tell people things? It was the worst possible thing to do for self preservation ever. Still, Jeremy hadn't exactly tried to kill him yet so maybe it was well earned. It was just going to be painfully awkward.

"Hey! Will! Rich! You guys coming back in?"

Both of their heads snapped around to look at the one who had shouted. Will couldn't stop the small shock of joy that snapped down his spine at the sight of Jeremy standing in the doorway, a mixture of confusion and concern over his features as he stared out the back lawn at them both.

Had Jeremy noticed that he was gone so quickly?

His cheeks highlighted a soft, dusty pink in embarrassment at the warmth that spread through his body at the thought. Turning his head away quickly before Jeremy could see the look over his face he tried to get himself together once more as he turned back to Richard.

"Unless there is anything else you would like to say I have nothing further to add."

Richard didn't say a word, his gaze shifting from Will to Jeremy and back again before a long, lecherous smirk shifted over his face.

"You're so whipped."

Will let out an undignified sputter, jamming his elbow non too gently into Richard's stomach when he laughed before stomping away and moving back towards Jeremy. Even though the surprise attack had left Richard breathless for a blessed few seconds, the moment that he got air back in his lungs he continued his hyena-like laughter that followed Will as he stormed up to the house.

He was not whipped! If anything it was him who had Jeremy wrapped around his finger! He just simply didn't have anything else to say. Did it not make more sense for them to go into the house rather than stand around outside in the cold milling about aimlessly? Going around in conversations that they'd already had?

Just as he was about to enter into the house, Jeremy's hand reached out, gently wrapping around his wrist and bringing him to a stop with no more effort than a small touch.

"What?" His snarl was met with a small frown, his temper instantly dying in guilt over the concern that was etched over the boy's face.

"Are you okay?"

The simple question left him speechless, as if all of the words in the human language wouldn't be good enough to answer with. It always left him momentarily stunned to see genuine care from his host. To see that Jeremy actually did care about what he did and where he went and how he felt. It left him feeling unsure and ill-footed in a world that he normally dominated so easily with a cold indifference.

When he didn't give up an answer Jeremy didn't press, a small tug on his wrist pulling him the rest of the way into the house and out of the cold, the door slowly sliding shut to block out Richard's laughter.

"You shouldn't spend so long outside without at least a sweater on Will." Jeremy said, changing the topic as he allowed Will's wrist to drop from his own, a breath of air cold as ice now kissing the skin as if to mock the warmth that had been there moments ago. "You could catch a cold that way." It was only then that Will noticed that he had a sweater draped over his arm, the very same one that he had bought for Will. "Wear this until you warm up again okay?"

Unable to deny him such a small request Will obediently took the garment from his arms, sliding it over his head with little protest. Once he had it on Jeremy smiled down at him, his finger reaching out to tap at his nose gently, an explosion of butterflies filling Will's stomach as he fought back against the heat in his cheeks.

"There you go. Much better right?"

"If it will satisfy you." Will sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned his head towards the table where the rest of the group continued to play cards. He was hoping against hope that Jeremy couldn't hear his heart beating loudly behind his ribs or make out the dark flush that now stained his cheeks.

Suddenly he regretted leaving the side of his face open as Jeremy leaned in close, the warmth of his breath caressing Will's ear and sending a shiver down his spine that had his whole body going stiff.

"If you were looking to satisfy me I have a few ideas in mind."

The deep chuckle that he'd come to associate with a few very specific activities just about knocked the wind out of his lungs as Jeremy's fingers trailed a slow, but fleeting stroke down his cheek, cupping his jaw only long enough to draw Will's gaze back to him, leaving him stumped stupid at the soft look over his features.

Before he could think too much on it the moment was over. Jeremy took a step back and tilted his head towards the rest of their group, his smile returning to the normal one he flashed to every person he knew as he took a step towards the table.

"Come on Will, you can play at least one game with everyone right?"

Trying to play it off, forcing himself to be more mellow than his freaking out internal monologue would allow, Will scoffed as he trailed after his host.

"So long as they do not mind losing."

Okay so maybe Richard was right.

Maybe he was just a little bit whipped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update! My beta reader just got a little busy is all. :)


	28. Chapter 28

When Will had told Jeremy that he'd done well today, the last thing he'd been expecting the second that their door closed was for his host to demand a reward. When he'd given a roll of his eyes and questioned if Jeremy was really that childish his snark had disintegrated instantly when Jeremy slid up to him and reminded Will of his words from just an hour or two prior about satisfying him.

Any and all arguments he tried to make to keep the other from twisting his words died on the tip of his tongue, getting caught in his throat the moment an arm snaked around his waist and tugged him in. The intent in the smirk and the fire in his gaze alone was enough to make Will's mouth go dry at the promise they held behind them.

Now, here he was fifteen minutes later, on his back with his legs hanging over the bed, spread wide with Jeremy kneeling in between them.

He'd been told to keep quiet, a task that he found becoming more and more difficult to do the longer that Jeremy kept up his antics.

His jaw was clenched so tightly it hurt, his one hand pressed so firmly over his mouth that he was sure it would leave an imprint. His other hand was firmly placed against Jeremy's head, his fingers wrapped up in the chestnut tussles, unsure of what to do other than hold on as his whole body trembled with every teasing breath over his thighs. It was annoying, absolutely maddening when he tried to direct the mouth where he actually wanted it, where he needed it, but Jeremy wouldn't take his direction. He was the one in control here and he knew it.

He made sure Will knew it too.

"You're doing really well." The praise made him whimper. A pathetic noise from the back of his throat that he couldn't stop. The heat coiling low in his belly pulsing as Jeremy dragged his nails down his thighs, his hands curling back up under them and twisting inward, marking up the sensitive skin with red lines. "I can't wait for the day when we get the house to ourselves." His host continued, teasing the v of his hips with his teeth, once again ignoring the one place Will really wanted his lips. "I can't wait till I can make you beg for it. Sometimes I imagine what your voice will sound like when I'm finally able to make you scream."

He just about did when Jeremy's fingers brushed over his need, his eyes rolling back in his head for a single frame of time as his toes curled, his back arching without his knowledge.

Jeremy chuckled, the sound deep and vibrating through Will's entire being as he melted to its will.

"For once it would be nice to hear something else spilling pass your lips than jibs and petty insults." Jeremy cooed, pressing his lips down an invisible line, "Your moans will be so sweet," He purred, Will's mind nothing but mush as he tried to focus on what was being said, "I can't wait to hear those pretty little pleas and mewls you'll make."

And he would do it too. Will didn't even care. He'd beg, he'd moan, he'd say anything that Jeremy would want to hear, say anything Jeremy would want him to say if it would just end this delightful torture that threatened to tear him apart worse than anything he'd faced before.

"But I suppose it'll have to wait." His sigh sounded as aggravated as Will was feeling, a breath of hot air washing over him and starting up his trembling anew.

God if this kept up he might just pass out.

Then, like some sort of merciful god, Jeremy finally took his prize.

Will almost did scream.

The heat was so sudden, so hot, that if his hand hadn't been acting as his muffler, a whole string of curses would have slipped passed his lips in a high pitched whine. His hips snapped up of their own accord, Jeremy going along with the movement flawlessly as if he'd been born to do so. Will's thighs shook, his heart beating so hard against his chest he was shocked it didn't just burst out and into the air. He didn't know what to do, for once at the complete and utter mercy of the one over him, his back bending like a tightly bound bow, his head tilted back so much his neck throbbed with a dull ache.

Jeremy took more control then, his hands wrapping around Will's legs and pushing them further apart, opening them obscenely wide, leaving Will's toes barely able to scrape across the floor, completely at Jeremy's mercy and unable to push up into that warm wet heat.

He had to let go of Jeremy, his hand moving up to join the one pressed over his lips, sounds still somehow able to pass through no matter how he tried to silence them.

The pleasure built, a liquid fire spread through every part of his body, his mind left to stand on the very edge, ready to tip over into the abyss, and then Jeremy's fingers brushed just below his heat.

Will's world exploded in a flash of white, and then threw him right to darkness.

He knew that his eyes were wide open, but he didn't see anything, his whole body went taut, every muscle tightening and seemingly frozen in time. His heart stilled, his breath stilled, the very world around him seemed to still, every noise falling to his deaf ears and leaving him to float alone in a world of nothingness.

Everything came back to him with his first gasp of breath, snapping sharply back into focus only to see Jeremy hovering just above him.

His mind felt absolutely fried, his eyes barely able to stay open from the overwhelming amount of energy that pulsed through his whole being, his limbs felt like jelly as his hands fell to the side of his head, his mouth opened agape as he took in lungfuls of air. He could only imagine what he looked like right now, unable to school his features into his normal blank facade as Jeremy placed a gentle hand against his cheek.

"You okay Will?"

He wanted to speak, wanted to tell him that- yes he was fine thank you very much he just needed a minute- but he couldn't get the words out. His brain absolutely refused to be of any use, his mind needing a moment to reboot as Jeremy caressed his cheek with his thumb.

Jeremy chuckled, leaning down and placing a kiss at the corner of his mouth as he spoke. "Sorry, I might have gone a little bit overboard there."

It was the kiss that killed him. Utter self loathing that consumed him. Guilt and shame slamming into him so quickly that any pleasure-filled haze was quick to disrupt at the tiny action. A reminder of what this really was, a slap in the face at just why they did this.

Jeremy was just being what he thought was a good host, doing what needed to be done to keep Will going. There was nothing more to it than that. He had fun doing it and Will needed it. There was nothing deeper, nothing special about it.

The reminder killed him. It felt worse than any broken bone he'd suffered, cut deeper than any knife wound he'd ever gotten, burnt hotter than any burn he'd ever experienced. It dug out his heart with a spoon and left a gaping, festering hole, his stomach disappearing into the void along with his heart as he stared up into the big, brown eyes of his host.

Jeremy would never kiss him, not fully, because that meant too much, was too intimate for what they were doing- because the one he wanted, wasn't Will.

The truth of it tore into him like a lightning bolt.

"Will?"

Jeremy's brows had creased, the corners of his lips folded down into a small frown as he continued to stare at him.

Will couldn't handle it. Couldn't stand that caring gaze turned on him so intently, couldn't answer to the wordless question when staring up at the other's face left him with a knot in his throat.

So he sat up, a soft press of his fingers against Jeremy's shoulders enough of a sign for the other to back off, which he did without question.

It was a funny feeling. A lonely, deep hole that he found himself tripping into every time that this happened. Yet he felt powerless to stop it. Powerless to say no. Because even if the guilt did choke him, even if the shame of it threatened to swallow him whole, he found that he still wanted it. Would still dive head first into anything Jeremy had to offer. No matter how much it tore at him, no matter just how worthless he felt afterwards.

He wasn't stupid, he could see the way that this would go. He would lose to Brooke. It only made sense. She was prettier than he was, as much as he hated to admit it. She was kinder and sweet and funny and smart. She was wholesome and innocent, everything Will couldn't even begin to attempt to change.

He would have to stay with Jeremy, there was nothing that either of them could do about that. Jeremy wouldn't want to kill him and Will didn't really want to die. They would have to remain with each other for the rest of their lives. But even though they were the ones with the bond, even though it should have given Will the upper hand, it wouldn't do anything against her.

It could happen, maybe years down the road, maybe sooner, but Jeremy would choose her. He'd choose her but entertain Will as some sort of dirty little secret just to keep him going. Maybe he'd live with them, maybe he'd live just down the street, but at the end of the day it would be her room Jeremy would properly return to, and Will's he'd hate himself for sneaking out of.

The truth of it left his stomach rolling. His shame and self-hatred mounting as he tried to force it down. He stood, his legs almost buckling underneath him, his knees feeling like jelly as he stumbled a few steps towards the door, subconsciously glad that Jeremy had fixed his clothing up at some point when his mind had been left to swim in the pleasure void he'd shoved him into.

"Will?"

"I'm going for a walk." The words were hard to push out, his jaw throbbing from being clenched for so long. "I have too much energy to sit still."

It wasn't a complete lie. His whole body hummed with energy that he couldn't control, a restless need to get up and move or do something singing in his veins as he yanked the door open.

He tried to tell himself that it was only because of how much energy he had. Tried to tell himself that the restlessness came from needing to burn some of it off or allow it to sink in. He didn't think too long on the painful throb in his chest that beat to the same rhythm as his heart. He didn't think too long on the need for him to get as far away from Jeremy as possible before he did something stupid, before he said something stupid.

An equal mixture of relief and sadness slammed into him when Jeremy didn't try to follow. He was both happy and upset that he wasn't going to have to explain his sudden mood as he slunk pass the empty kitchen and slipped out the back door. They'd done lots of training today, and then with their little activity just a few moments ago no doubt Jeremy was left completely drained. He no doubt would fall asleep within a few minutes and not wake till morning.

Will could live with that, it was something that he understood, something that he wished he could join in with. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to just shut his mind off. To just drift away into the void of nothingness and be lost in it forever.

Maybe he shouldn't have fought so hard to survive for all of those years. Maybe he should have allowed himself to be destroyed by his creators, by his enemies, by everyone. Maybe then he would finally find the peace he'd been hoping for all of his life.

Instead he got this. A whirlwind of emotions that he didn't know how to handle. A group of people he didn't know how to interact with, and a host who was in love with someone else.

A gentle brush pushed at his mind. Not words, but a deep rooted concern, one he tried to ignore as he stepped away from their property and into the dark woods beyond. But the brush came again, more insistent this time as he let loose a snarl to no one in particular.

I'm fine.

He sent the message back. Loud and clear and with no room for argument.

Jeremy pulled back, whether because he believed him or just because his conscious was slipping Will didn't know, but the shield stayed lowered, allowing Will to reach out to him if he needed to.

Will found his temper simmering at that, a dull flame from the inferno it had been as he sent his own touch back.

He would be okay. Eventually.

"About time you slipped away."

The voice made him freeze, the very blood in his veins going cold, his whole body slammed to a sudden stop as if he'd run into some sort of invisible wall.

It seemed as if the woods knew just what kind of hell had crept up on them, the wildlife falling so silent not even a lone cricket could be heard echoing through the trees.

For a long moment, Will didn't move, afraid that any action on his part would provoke an attack from the other, but when time slowly ticked by and none came, he turned his head to look over his shoulder.

Jason Dean stood just a few feet behind him.

An air of casual grace filled every cell in his body as he stood there, dressed all in black, nearly blending in with the tree he was lazily leaning against. His eyes were just as dark as Will remembered, the dark hair that fell over them only adding to the abyss of his gaze, the lethalness that screamed from his entire being even with his hands hidden away in the deep pockets of the thick coat.

Will found the blood in his veins freezing, found the beating of his heart picking up as his mind tried to figure out just what to do next. True, he had told Rich that they didn't need to worry about Jason, but that was only if Jason wasn't seeking them out. And it looked as if he'd been laying in wait for Will.

But things were different now. It had been years since Will had seen the guy, years since the last time they spoke, since they'd fought. Will had a host now, he was stronger, he had more energy, and more of a will to protect than he'd ever had before.

If Jason was going to pick a fight with him, Will wasn't going to go down easily.

"Tell me, when did you become the team player type?"

He didn't move. Didn't dare let it show just how unsettled he was as he schooled his features into a bored sort of blankness.

"What does it matter to you?" He turned around to face the other, slowly, making sure that none of his movements could be seen as a threat.

Jason's smirk was absolutely feral, and even though the last thing that Will wanted to do was fight, he was already bracing himself for the first strike.

"Isn't a father allowed to be curious?"

The word sounded like more of an insult than anything, a way to bait him into making a stupid move. Will didn't fall for it, didn't move pass narrowing his gaze as Jason pushed himself away from the tree and took a few steps towards him.

Will didn't push him to speak, didn't push him to explain himself or question just what it was he was doing here. He wanted to, in fact it nearly tore him apart to not be able to do just that, but he knew better. He knew that by trying to confront the other, by being too forward, it would only lead to a fight that much quicker.

Jason must have picked up on it. Taking his own sweet time to move in closer, his every movement under watch, knowing that he was just putting Will more and more on edge with every step he took.

"You need to leave."

The command came out of nowhere, Will's anger filtering away to confusion at the solemn look set over Jason's features.

"What?"

"You killed Janette." Jason interrupted, his voice sharp enough to cut as he took another step forward, Will retreating a step back. "She was Reyes' right hand. How fucking stupid are you?"

"It was not intentional." Will muttered, a silent, secret part of him that was buried deep, deep down crying out in guilt over the disappointment that was written clearly over Jason's face. "She just about killed me and I..."

"Then you should have let her."

Even though they shouldn't have been able to, the words cut deep, silencing any protest that he would have made as he jerked away from the one before him, as if Jason's words actually had a physical blow to them.

"I can't go." His words were weak, nearly silent and nonexistent in the overpowering presence of the older squip.

"What?"

Again he flinched. Again only that one tone was enough for him to feel stupid, weak, useless. But he didn't break under it

"I-I can't go." He repeated, his voice growing stronger as he thought of the one who was waiting for him back at home. His shoulders rolled back as he thought of just what Jeremy would think about him in this situation. "I won't."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did Jason strike.

The hand at the front of his neck was expected, the foot that knocked his legs out from under him was a little less so but he figured he should have seen it coming as he slammed hard into the ground. He found himself struggling to get in air, his eyes wide as he stared up at the star filled sky above him. Just as his lungs finally managed to steal some of the oxygen from the world around him, a heavy boot pressed down hard on his chest, a face finally appearing in the corner of his vision.

"Didn't I always say that you would do much better if you kept your mouth shut?"

Will gritted his teeth, grabbing at the boot with both hands and shoving it off of himself. Jason more or less allowing him to do so as Will rolled onto his stomach and got back to his feet, finally facing the one who he'd always openly hated, and privately seek approval from.

"Go to hell."

"You first." Jason sneered, Will snarled back, the dark eyes of the other carefully taking him in, carefully taking in the change.

Will felt a sudden shift in the air, his whole body tensing as Jason eyed him up from head to toe, Will's breath catching in his throat when those dark eyes snapped up and met his gaze.

"You have a host."

The blood drained from his face at the slow smirk that stretched like a serpent over Jason's own, at the dark glint in his eye as a deep chuckle rose from within his chest.

"Well, well," Will's skin went cold, his heart stopping for a beat as Jason all but slithered up to him, "isn't that interesting. I thought you were a little too comfortable with that kid."

He was too close. Too close and too dangerous and there was no way in hell that Will was going to give him any opportunity to hurt Jeremy.

Shoving his hand against the man's chest, Will let out his own blast of power, knocking the other clear across the worn path and over a bush between two trees. Recovering as quickly as he possibly could he got the air back in his lungs, shaking himself off and trying to recover, trying to shove down his fear and focus on what he was going to do next as he sent out a small pulse of energy, finding out just where the other was hiding.

He was a little shocked to find that he didn't need to go through the effort, Jason did little to hide himself, his laughter floating up from the darkness and only unsettling Will that much more as he crouched himself low to the ground.

"Um, ow."

The darker male appeared leaning against one of the trees, his one hand braced against the bark for balance while the other disappeared under the folds of his heavy coat, rubbing at the place Will had hit. The smirk over his face was just unsettling, and Will hated the fact that it only put him that much more on edge.

"Okay, okay." Jason chuckled, his hands both coming up as he stepped back onto the path once more. "I might have come on a little strong, let's try this again."

But Will wasn't putting his guard down again. His gaze only narrowed, glowing in the darkness to show just how ready he was to strike if Jason tried anything again. For his part, the older squip just gave a light shrug of his shoulders, not seeming offended in the least as the smile fell from his lips.

"Fair enough."

"If you have only come here with the intent to make me disappear then allow me to inform you that I will not..."

"Jesus Christ," Jason growled, dropping his hands back as he folded his arms behind his back, "Has anyone ever told you that the way you talk is super annoying?"

Will snarled openly back at him, wondering just how much more energy he could use before he would run out.

Jeremy had already been pretty drained after all of their training, and then their activities afterwards had no doubt wiped out any remaining energy he had left. If Will tried to reach out to him as an energy source he would end up hurting him, or worse. He was going to have to find out just why Jason wanted him gone and quickly, preferably without any further attacks.

"What do you want?" His words came out as a snarl this time, his shoulders hunching up when Jason made a move to take a step forward.

"I just told you. I want you gone."

Obviously Jason wasn't taking his warning, not as he continued to walk forward, not as he continued to move towards Will no matter how many times Will gave up ground, making sure he knew just where he was leading to. They were moving around in a slow circle, a weird sort of twisted dance that they made up steps to as they went along.

"You need to get out of here. Your little misleads aren't nearly as cleaver as you think they are."

"Strange," Will hissed, coming to a stop when Jason halted his movements, "never thought you would be the one to care about how clever I am."

"Trust me. If they were just after you, I'd allow them to tear you to pieces." Although he expected as much, it still hurt to hear it and Will almost couldn't stop the flinch from crossing over his features. "But I'm afraid that you've gotten yourself mixed up with someone I actually care about and I can't have them dragging her into this."

At his confession Will found himself confused yet again, wondering just who he was talking about as he arched a brow at the man across from him.

"What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't concern you." Jason snapped, his mood flashing back to rage in an instant. "Just get out of this place and show yourself somewhere else. They're not going to follow that cold trail forever."

"I am not leaving."

"Take your host with you." Jason snapped back. "Or are you hoping Rich and Jake will die for you too?"

The question left him stunned, unable to find his voice. Using Will's shock to his advantage Jason moved in again, this time not laying a hand on Will but standing so close that his breath ghosted over his ear as he spoke.

"Think this through Will. Do your friends really deserve to die? You think you're worth that much? And what about your little host hm? Just how much did you fuck up his life the second you stepped into it?"

The hand was back, slamming him so hard into the tree he was standing in front of that little white dots appeared before his eyes. Although his own hands raised up, he didn't try to pry the fingers away from his throat, didn't try to fight against it as a deep hatred that he didn't know Jason could possess focused solely on him, nearly enough to melt the flesh from his bones.

"Believe me, if you hadn't poisoned my programming I would have no problem with killing you off myself and dropping your corpse at their feet."

Will had no idea what he was talking about, no idea why Jason didn't do just that if he wanted him gone so badly, but he didn't get a chance to ask as he was shoved back once more before the hand was ripped away from him.

"Get out of here Will."

He gasped, his lungs and throat burning with how many times in the last few minutes that he'd been deprived of oxygen. He stumbled, just about falling into the other before he managed to catch himself. Jason's hand landed again on his shoulder, his other one snapping up to clutch at Will's face with sharp nails as he tilted his head back up to him.

"You know, you have an amazing amount of energy pouring out of you." Will's snarl was weak, pathetic as he tried to shove the other away, not able to call up any of his energy properly until his head cleared. "My host hasn't given me energy in years. She hates me, but a part of her still loves me, and always will." The news came as a shock to Will, he didn't think that Jason had ever had a host. It was the first time he'd ever heard about it. "It'll be nice to have some spare energy for once."

Before he could try to figure out just what he meant by that Jason's mouth slammed into his. Will's stomach lurched, his body curling in on itself in disgust as he tried to yank away, but Jason's hold on him was strong, and growing stronger with every ounce of energy he stole. Will could feel himself getting weaker, could feel the power being sucked out of him and into the other, his knees growing shaky and his body growing heavy.

It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like claws dragging long talons from his chest and all the way up his throat. It felt like having boiling hot water poured over him and choked back up. It was hot and sharp and painful beyond anything he could ever remember going through. His energy fought to stay with him, doing whatever it could to hold on, but the more he fought against it the more it stung, the worse the feeling of something being torn out became, as if Jason was trying to tear out all of his organs alongside his power.

His vision was starting to swim, the corners of his eyes growing dark and dim and blurry, his head spinning when Jason finally pulled back.

Without the hands holding him up anymore Will stumbled to his knees, his vision a confusing swirl of dark colours, his whole body feeling too weak to even lift a finger. He was left reeling from the sudden shock, the sudden surplus of energy that had been taken from him in a matter of seconds, that had been stolen, that had been ripped out without a second thought.

He was going to shut down. Jason hadn't left him with anything. He was going to pass out here, in the dark and the cold. No one even knew he was out here. He supposed maybe if he was lucky some coyote or bear might feast on his corpse before he woke up. Maybe if that happened then he wouldn't have to worry about just what might happen to his friends. Worry about just what might happen to Jeremy.

Jason was still talking, but Will had no idea just what he was saying. Couldn't make out the words above the high pitched buzzing in his ears as his body tilted, falling to his side, his head slamming into the semi-frozen ground.

And then everything went black.

(***)

"WILLIAM!"

Jeremy shot up from his bed. His heart was pounding, sweat was dripping off his forehead and down his chest. The other side of the bed empty and cold.

He wasn't sure what it was, but something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

Will?

His call was met with nothing, no sign of his presence, not even a single flit of annoyance.

He didn't waste any time in jumping out of bed, not bothering to grab his coat or his shoes as he ripped open the door to his room.

Jake and Rich jumped at his violent entrance, any smart comment Rich had to say dying on the tip of his tongue at the look over Jeremy's face.

"Something's wrong. Will's in trouble."

He didn't wait for their response, didn't wait to see just what they had to say or what questions they might have before he brushed by them and towards the back door, running out into the cold dark woods barefoot.

He had to find Will. Had to make sure that he was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: And enter JD. Trust me, this will not be the last that you all hear from him. :)


	29. Chapter 29

Jeremy wasn't sure just where he was going, but he felt as if he was being pulled in one direction and decided to follow along with it.

He knew that Will had said that he wanted to go for a walk, that he wouldn't have been able to sit still, and sure, he was use to Will ignoring some of his mental calls but, something just felt... off.

Will should have been back.

Jeremy's bare feet didn't even feel the cold bite of the ground as he sprinted in the dark, thankful for the light of the moon that manged to filter its way through the tress.

He broke through a line of trees and onto a path, stopping for only a moment to glance this way and that down the two sides, wondering just which one he should take.

Something in his mind told him to go left.

So he did.

"Jeremy!"

He wasn't at all shocked when Rich appeared next to his side, Jake taking up the space on the other side as he kept his gaze forward.

"What's going on? Did Will contact you or something?"

Jeremy was just starting to realize just how out of shape he was compared to the two squips next to him. While they seemed to be fairing just fine, he was panting deeply, barely able to form words let alone push them out and speak. Rich thankfully seemed to pick up on it, giving a small shake of his head as he dropped his questions for now and continued forward.

Just up ahead, there was a slight bend in the path, and Jeremy pushed himself to go faster, to get around that bend and hope that Will was on the other side.

Relief flooded him for just one single moment at the sight of Will, and than was quickly dashed against the rocks the next second once he saw him laying there.

Still.

He didn't have the air to call out his name, he highly doubted that Will would have responded anyways, so instead he just pushed himself faster, somehow managing on pulling ahead of Jake and Rich. He landed on his knees hard, sliding the last few feet towards Will and stopping just at his side. Even with his heart pounding in his chest, even though his lungs burned with the effort and his limbs felt boneless and heavy, he didn't waste a second in looking Will over, didn't waste a second in gently cupping his face and gasping out his name.

"Will? Will? Come on."

It was utterly terrifying. He could see Will breathing, but his eyes were open, unblinking, staring ahead to nowhere and glossed over. He looked dead, or at the very least at deaths door, and Jeremy had no idea what to do. No idea what he could do to make it better or to fix what was wrong. He had no idea just what might have happened, no idea just what was wrong. He didn't know where to start or if there was something that he should be doing.

The thought that he might just lose Will flashed into his mind, and he shoved it out hard as Rich and Jake landed next to his side.

"Oh shit."

"What's wrong with him?" Jeremy was choking, his chest heaving not only with the effort to take in air, but to hold back his sobs as well. He had to keep it together. Had to stay strong and help in any way that he could.

"He's burnt out." Jake muttered, reaching over Jeremy to wave his hand in front of Will's face.

Will didn't move, didn't react to their presence at all. He just laid there lifelessly, almost as if he was in some kind of deep sleep.

But Jake's news didn't do anything to sooth Jeremy's concern, if anything it just made it worse. It made no sense for Will to be burnt out. They had just... Jeremy had given him a fair share of energy just before he left. How could it be that he was out?

"No." He found himself having to wipe his eyes on the upper sleeve of his t-shirt, not willing to let go of the other, not willing to let go of Will. "No, that- that doesn't make any sense. He should be fine. He-he should have lots."

Rich didn't say anything, leaning over the other with his brows drawn together as he reached out to place his hand on Will's forehead.

Without thinking Jeremy snarled at him, pulling Will's limp body to his chest and snapping his teeth at Rich, forcing him to yank his hand back to avoid being bitten. Not even a moment later and Jeremy reel himself back, away from Rich, his eyes wide as his mouth opened and closed, his mind trying to come up with anything it could to explain what had just happened.

But he had no idea what to say.

"It's okay Jeremy." Rich's voice was soft and low, as if he was speaking to a frightened animal rather than his friend. "I just need to check something."

This time he moved slowly. This time when Rich reached out, Jeremy allowed him to gently brush his fingers over Will's forehead.

The troubled look over his features and the quick glance he shared with Jake didn't leave a very good feeling in the pit of Jeremy's stomach.

"What?" His voice sounded broken, this temper raising when they each pressed their lips into a thin line. "What's wrong?"

"He's been forcibly drained." Jake muttered, a glare settling over his features as he shifted his gaze around the woods.

Seeing that he wasn't going to be much of a help anymore Jeremy turned to the one beside him, not liking the murderous intent lining Rich's eyes one bit as he clutched Will closer to him.

"What does that mean?"

Rich was his go to guy for these sorts of things. The one who was always willing to tell him what Jake and Will weren't. But for some reason, Jeremy wasn't sure that he really wanted to know this time. He wasn't sure that he wanted to be told just what had happened anymore.

"It means that someone stole his energy." Rich spat out. "It's a very dangerous and painful process and a disgustingly violating act. It would be like someone reaching into your soul and tearing it out, swallowing it down by the mouthfuls." He continued, his gaze lifting from Will's face to stare at Jeremy. "It also means that JD will definitely be back to see us again."

JD? Was Rich saying that Will's own father did this to him?

A blinding rage he didn't even know he was capable of tore into Jeremy, filling every fibre of his being until he was almost choking with it. He turned his attention wholly on Will, his one hand gently stroking down the side of his face, his livid anger growing at the lack of any reaction.

"I'm going to kill him." His voice came out in a venomous hiss, low and lethal, drenched with enough darkness to startle the two squips at his side. It almost scared even Jeremy himself, not just the words, but the fact that he really meant them.

He pushed it aside. He could work out just what he was feeling later. Right now he had to focus on Will.

And if he was out of energy than Jeremy knew a good way to get it back to him.

Shuffling his body just a little bit closer, Jeremy didn't hesitate for a moment before pressing his lip softly against the ones below him.

He was a little surprised to feel just how soft Will's lips were. He'd always figured that they would feel a little chapped and cold, or that maybe they would have some sort of weird metallic taste, but they didn't. They were smooth and warm, and growing warmer as Jeremy tugged him in closer. It was only when he felt a hand press weakly against his chest that he finally pulled back, an overwhelming joy filling him to the brim at the sight of Will blinking slowly up at him.

"Jeremy?"

His voice sounded rough, as if he'd been chain smoking for all his life and gargling nails, but he was speaking, and that alone was enough to satisfy Jeremy.

"Oh thank god." The relief laced in his words just about spilled over, his hand already coming up to rub at the flood of tears that were spilling from his eyes.

He wasn't an idiot, he knew Will was still going to need some time to recover, but at least now he was awake, maybe a little dazed and confused but he was able to speak and weakly shift his limbs and that was far better than his deadly comatose state.

Bringing his hand back to Will's face he couldn't help the little spill of faint laughter that fell from his lips, gently stroking his thumb over the boy's cheek. Will gave out a small, broken whine, his eyes screwing shut as the hand against Jeremy chest tightened around the shirt he was wearing, turning his body to curl himself closer to Jeremy. Unable to give up holding onto him Jeremy tucked him in closer, giving a fleeting kiss to the top of Will's head before tucking him under his chin.

Will was alive, and right now he was safe.

So lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice when Rich got to his feet, or when the other two squips stood in front of them. Nor did he notice the absolute rage pouring off of the smaller of the two until a sharp hiss caught his attention. The second he saw the look across the others face he could feel his own anger crawling back up, his lips already twitching at the corners to bare his teeth at the blond.

"What the hell were you doing out here!? On your own no less! Do you have any idea how stupid..!"

"Back the fuck off Richard!"

The whole forest seemed to fall into silence, the two standing squips left wide eyed and slacked jawed as Jeremy snarled at them.

"Right now is not the time for this shit!" He hissed, shifting Will in his hold until he was able to lift him up. "Let's just get out of here and back home alright?"

None of them dared to speak against him, nodding their heads along quickly to his orders as he turned his back on them and started towards home.

His temper was flaring, he was absolutely livid at the idea that Rich thought now was a good time to snap at his friend, he was pissed that Jake hadn't stepped in to stop it. Will wasn't in any sort of state to be yelled at, and even if he was, they had no right to.

Will had only been out here in the first place to get away from Jeremy. He wasn't an idiot, he could see that. Maybe their nightly physical interactions weren't as consensual as he thought. Maybe Will really didn't want to partake in them as much as Jeremy thought that he did. Maybe he just couldn't say no, and the very idea that he might have been forcing Will to do something like that...

Shame burned along his face, guilt and disgust twisting his gut until he felt as if he was going to be sick. But he held it back, bit his tongue against it because right now wasn't about him. Right now was about helping Will and making sure that he was okay. He could hate himself later.

The walk back seemed to take forever, but they eventually got there. No one had dared say a word after Jeremy's out burst, and he honestly wasn't feeling to up to talking to either of them even when Jake slid the door open for him without meeting his eyes. They could be left to their own thoughts for the night, Jeremy didn't care. He didn't toss so much as a good night over his shoulder as he entered his room and slammed his door shut.

He couldn't help the small wince from coming over his face as he remembered Christine and Micheal. While they were no doubt dead to the world after all of the training and energy they had given up today that might have just done the trick to wake them. That he could feel bad about, but he could feel bad about it later.

Right now he focused on gently laying in bed next to Will, knowing that there would be no way that he would be letting Jeremy go any time soon.

He tucked them both under the blankets, holding Will close and placing feather light kisses all over his face in hopes that the small actions would help to build his energy up quicker. He kept it up, even as the grey light of the early morning sun filtered in through their window. Until the cold unforgiving hands of the sandman pulled him down to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... As some people already know, this is actually going to be two books. :) But I was wondering, for the second book if people would want it to be rated T, M, or E? Nothing would really change but you would get more JermeyXWill fun-fun times with more description a long with MichealXRich. :)   
> Just let me know if that would be something that everyone would be cool with! :D


	30. Chapter 30

Jeremy woke up with such a start that his heart just about flew out of his chest. His head quickly snapped down, his mind instantly at ease to see Will curled up on his chest, still sleeping peacefully as if whatever had happened last night didn't exist.

Able to rest now that he knew that the other was safe Jeremy allowed his body to sink back into the bed, his arm around Will pulling him in just a little bit closer before his hand soothingly ran up and down his back. Turning his gaze to the ceiling he lifted his other hand, pushing his bangs out of his eyes as he continued to stare blankly upwards.

Last night had been... a lot to deal with, and all in such a short amount of time too.

When Rich had told him about JD, when Will had said that he likely wouldn't be a problem for them, Jeremy wished that he hadn't been naive enough to believe it. He should have gone with Will, or at the very least he should have followed him. But he'd been tired. Tired and had barely had enough of his own energy left to reach out to Will, to make sure that he was okay a few minutes after he'd left. His mind had slipped away the second that Will had responded.

If he'd just stayed awake though. If he'd kept Will from leaving, then none of this would have been happening right now.

Glancing over at the clock next to their bed Jeremy couldn't find it in himself to be shocked to see that it was around two... in the afternoon.

For a brief moment he couldn't help but wonder just why none of their friends had gotten them up. It was Monday after all, they all had classes, but the second the thought entered his mind he found himself scoffing at just how stupid it was. There was no way that Will was in any condition to go right now, and there was no way that Jeremy would leave him here on his own either. The others must have figured that and just decided to let them rest.

Or at least Rich and Jake would, he had no idea just what Micheal and Christine knew about the whole thing. Although he knew it was going to have to be something that they would all have to sit down and discuss. There was no way he was going to allow his friends to wander around blind. If there was a danger out there they needed to know about it.

Letting out a deep sigh through his nose he gave a half-hearted debate on whether or not he wanted to get up. When Will's hand tightened its hold on Jeremy's shirt he figured the choice was made and stayed put. Which left him with nothing other to do than to think, and none of the thoughts in his head were any good.

He and Will were going to have to talk. Preferably the moment that Will woke up, but he could wait until the guy had eaten something first before jumping into it he supposed.

But they would talk.

He hated to think that the only reason that Will had been out there in the first place was because what Jeremy had done... what he had been doing, made Will too uncomfortable to stay by his side any longer. Maybe he'd only been able to put up with it for so long before he finally broke and had to walk out.

He'd looked like he was close to tears.

The reminder of the silver lining the other's gaze pulled hard at the strings of Jeremy's heart, his throat tightening enough to make it hard to breathe as he placed his hand over his eyes.

He hadn't meant to do that. He'd honestly thought that Will liked it but... thinking back on it now Will was never the one who initiates anything. He never flirted with Jeremy the way that Jeremy would occasionally tease him. He never was the one to start anything whenever they were behind closed doors, and he barely ever spoke a word whenever they did get up to something. Granted Jeremy was normally telling him to be quiet so that the others wouldn't hear or catch on but... in doing so had he taken away Will's ability to say no?

His stomach twisted painfully at the thought, his mind bulking on going any further down that rabbit hole. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than to separate himself from Will right now. To push the other away and leave the poor guy alone. But he couldn't. Will needed him to regain the energy that had been stolen. To get back what was essentially his life force. But Jeremy couldn't deny that he liked being able to hold Will in his arms. He liked being able to feel like he was able to do something to help the other.

Even though he knew it was wrong he couldn't help but wish that he could just stay like this.

But when Will woke up they would talk.

Jeremy would apologize, over and over again, he would get on his knees and beg for forgiveness if he had to. He needed to talk to Will and to figure out just how he was actually feeling about the set-up that they had and what he wanted to do about it.

A nearly silent knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts, his eyes snapping over to it and his whole body tensing as the worst case of just who could be behind it popped into his mind.

When the door was slowly pushed open he found himself able to relax at the sight of Rich's head peering through the small crack he'd made.

"Do you mind if I come in?"

With a silent nod of his head Jeremy waved him in, placing his finger to his lips to remind Rich to be quiet as he tiptoed into their room.

A thick, heavy silence filled the room, able to find no escape the second that the door slid closed behind the blond standing before him. Rich stood in the middle of his floor, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his shoulders rolling in and up, close to his ears. Jeremy on the other hand found that he couldn't exactly meet his gaze, shame for what he had said and how he had snapped last night at the poor guy making him awkward as he laid there. While he agreed with his original statement, he didn't need to shout at Rich like that, or to completely ignore the both of them either.

"I thought you'd still be in class." His words were quiet, almost a whisper as his gaze darted up to meet the other's eyes before falling back down to his chest.

Rich shrugged, taking a moment to absorb the statement and come up with his own answer as he took another step in.

"I uh, I'm skipping out for the rest of the day." He admitted. "I wanted to come and check on Will."

This time Jeremy held the other's gaze, keeping them locked until it was Rich who had to turn away.

"I also wanted to apologize." He added, coming closer yet again. From this close Jeremy could see just how white his knuckles were from the grip he had on his arms. "For last night. For what I said."

Jeremy found his own gaze softening, his head giving a slight nod for Rich to finish getting closer. The small action seemed to loosen something in Rich, his shoulders dropping from his ears and his eyes finally moving back to Jeremy as he now stood at the edge of his bed.

"I-I shouldn't have said that to Will. I knew that he wasn't...I was just..."

"Afraid?"

Rich winced at the word, as if it was something he wasn't used to feeling, as if it was something that was too hard to associate with himself. But he ever so slowly nodded his head, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips.

"Yea."

Without waiting for him to say another word, Jeremy reached out and took a hold of Rich's wrist. He could feel the other tensing under his hold, could feel Rich waiting to see what would happen next, to see just what Jeremy would do, but he only moved his hand down, resting his palm flatly against Will's back.

Almost instantly, Rich's gaze filled with tears that threatened to spill out as he felt the rise and fall of Will's breathing.

"He's alive Rich."

It seemed like a stupid thing to have to confirm, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that the dark haired male clinging to him was very much alive, but the words had an instant effect on Rich.

Right before Jeremy's very eyes, the great Richard Goranski broke.

Rich dropped to his knees, his hand clamping over his mouth to try and muffle the great heavy sobs that left his shoulders heaving while his other hand clutched the material of Will's shirt as if he was afraid that Will would slip away and disappear if he didn't hold on.

Jeremy didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could say to try and soothe the guy he'd known for the last few years. Had no idea just what kind of relationship these two had that would cause this kind of response. No idea just what would make Rich feel better. No idea what would help him.

It might have been a little heartless, but Jeremy couldn't help but wish he would stop. He didn't want him to wake up Will, he didn't want this to be the first thing Will would see upon waking.

Reaching out his free hand he gently placed it on top of Rich's head, ruffling his hair softly. It wasn't much, but it was the only thing that he could think of. Just a little human contact, just a little bit of comfort to remind Rich that he wasn't alone in this, that Jeremy was here and he was doing what he could, even if it wasn't much.

"I-I'm sorry." Rich voice wavered as he dropped his hand, unable to pull his eyes away from Will's sleeping face while he wiped at his eyes. "I just... Will's like my little brother and I..." Rich choked, his throat too tight to push the rest out as he shook his head, trying to press forward. "Last night it just reminded me of all the times I used to find him like this, or worse. Jesus Christ there were times when I would find him so bruised and bloody I almost couldn't tell who he was. There were so many years I had to keep such a sharp eye on him just to make sure he made it through the day and..." Jeremy didn't say a word, only able to watch as Rich took in a deep breath, shaking his head as he spoke. "I can still remember when he'd finally had enough, when he started fighting back, when he started fighting for the others that couldn't defend themselves. Fuck, he was always covered in so much blood. They would drag him away, kicking and screaming at the top of his lungs. And then on the night that we left he stayed behind to make sure that they wouldn't follow us and I thought that would be the last time I would see him."

A fresh wave of sobs racked Rich's body that he tried to hold in, that he tried to grit his teeth against. But no matter how hard he tried to hold it in his tears slipped out, his shoulders shook and his voice broke.

Jeremy didn't know what to say to any of the new information. Sure he knew that Will's life had been vastly different from his own, but he never imagined quite how much. Could never imagine the horror that any of them had lived for years on end. Could never imagine just what kind of effects that would have on a child.

He didn't know what to say, what kind of comfort he could give, but thankfully it didn't seem that Rich needed one.

His tears slowly dried, his hold on Will from across Jeremy loosening enough for him to pull back and straighten himself out. His face was oddly blank, his eyes red and his cheeks splotchy from crying so hard. He sniffled, rubbing at his nose with the back of his hand before raising both of his hands up to push his bangs from his eyes.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke, Rich stared at Will and Jeremy stared at Rich. He had a feeling that there was more that Rich wanted to say, more that he wanted to get off his chest before anything else could be done.

"I don't want to lose him again Jeremy." His voice was hoarse, his eyes glazed over as he shook his head again. "I can't."

Strangely enough, Jeremy felt as if he understood. He couldn't lose Will either. He wouldn't. And he would do whatever he had to in order to make sure that nothing like this ever happened to Will again.

"He won't wake up for at least another seventeen hours, and that's only if you stay with him the whole time." Rich explained, slowly raising to his feet on shaky legs. "It'll be another twenty six if you don't."

"I'm not going anywhere." Jeremy assured, tightening his hold as if to strengthen his point.

Rich let out a small, airy laugh, one that almost couldn't make it out of his mouth but shifted his shoulders just the slightest. He looked as if he could also use a seventeen hour rest, and Jeremy felt his heart going out to him as he turned to walk away.

"Rich."

The blond paused, his hand just inches from the door, but he didn't look over his shoulder, didn't turn to see just what kind of face Jeremy would be making at his confession.

"I'm sure that Will will forgive you if you apologize to him. He cares about you too."

Although Rich still kept his gaze forward, Jeremy watched as his hand came up to rub at his eyes once more before he opened the door.

"Thanks Jeremy."

As the door clicked softly shut behind him Jeremy turned his gaze back down to the peaceful sleeping face of Will.

Yeah, they had a lot to talk about once he woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So ya I know this chapter is a little short and a day late and I'm sorry! DX But on the bright side the next chapter Will and Jeremy talk about feels! So you know, there's that to look forwards to I guess. :)


	31. Chapter 31

Jeremy actually kind of had fun trying to find new positions to sleep in with Will cuddled up next to him, and thankfully, as he found out about three hours after Rich had left, he could pick Will up and move around with him and the guy would still sleep like a rock.

So he managed to stay close with him through basically the whole seventeen hours, only separating when he had to use the bathroom or to make food. When the others were around the house however he tried his best to stay inside their room, not sure just how Will would feel about knowing that the others had seen him at his weakest. Even then he was still able to amuse himself by playing on his phone, watching Netflix, or doing the homework that the others had gratefully collected for him.

Jake had also brought Jeremy Will's homework, and Jeremy was shocked to see just what courses Will had signed up for. He didn't really want to go through Will's things but when he took the books from Jake he couldn't help but glance at the titles, stunned to see a mixture of law, psychology, social services, child support, and nutritional classes. But he didn't browse any further than the titles, feeling bad enough for doing that when he placed them on their desk.

As it was now he was sitting against the headboard of their bed, Will cradled in his lap with Jeremy's arms wrapped around him, holding one of his textbooks while he rested his chin on top of the boy's hair.

He'd just finished the last assigned page when Will shifted in his hold, Jeremy's whole body tensed, waiting to see if he would finally wake up.

"What day is it?"

Will's voice was a dry croak, his words followed by a small cough, but Jeremy didn't care. His book fell to the floor, completely forgotten as he pulled Will in tighter, just about crushing him to his chest as he let out a small, happy squeal.

"You're awake!" He cheered, rocking the solid body in his arms back and forth.

"Ouch! Yes, and able to hear just fine."

With the scolding hiss Jeremy quickly backed off, letting him go with a sheepish little smile.

Okay, so he might have over done it just a little bit- but Will was finally awake! And apparently ready to snark right off the bat. Which was fine, he didn't think he would be in a great mood if someone shouted in his ears when he first woke up either.

Deciding to answer Will's question he allowed his squip to squirm out of his hold, even if he missed it already.

"It's Tuesday, around seven."

"AM?" Will muttered, squinting at the bright light from outside the window. "Guess we can still make it in time for class then."

The nonchalant reply took a moment for Jeremy to really register fully. By the time he'd pieced together just what it was Will had said, the guy was already stumbling towards the closet, apparently set on getting dressed and ready for the day.

Quickly scrambling to his feet Jeremy found himself sliding up beside Will in record time, covering the handle for their closet as he tried his best to look relaxed.

"What do you mean? I thought you'd rather take the day off?"

In return for his question, Will just arched a brow, his lips pulling down into a frown as he took a step away from Jeremy. Even though the action was tiny and looked to be done subconsciously, it still stuck a knife into Jeremy's heart to see it. It also reminded him about just what he needed to talk to Will about.

"What in the world would give you that idea? I've already missed an entire day."

"Um, yea, because you got attacked and just about died." His tone might have held a bit more attitude to it than it should have, but honestly he had no idea just how Will was treating this like it was normal. His words seemed to have at least some effect however as Will's lips pressed to the side, his eyes dropping for a moment while Jeremy sighed. "What happened out there Will?"

He wasn't sure if Will would bother to tell him. Wasn't sure if it was really something that Will wanted to talk about. But then Will took in a deep breath and dropped his forehead against the closet door, staring blankly ahead.

"I had a run in with my fa... with Jason Dean." Jeremy didn't comment on the slip up, deciding to keep his mouth shut and see just how much Will would say. "He does not want me to be around here. He wants me to leave. Apparently he does not think that they will be fooled for long as to my whereabouts and apparently I have involved myself with someone that he knows and, cares about." The words seemed to be spat out, Will pushed himself away from the closet and turned to face Jeremy. "Are you aware that I have killed people?"

The question came out of nowhere.

It pulled the rug right out from Jeremy's feet and left his mind grasping for answers. He had no idea where that had come from, why Will was mentioning it now. It was never something that they talked about, never something that Jeremy really wanted to discuss but, honestly he had, had his suspicions. After all Micheal had told him what had happened to that woman on the night that they had met Will. Had told him how she had just seemed to evaporate into nothing, screaming bloody murder, and while he'd known it had happened something about it just felt... surreal. Like a made up story or an exaggeration.

Thinking back to some of the things that Will had said, thinking back on just how he would have been able to survive all of these years with people hunting him down, thinking back on what he had said about the ones who used to hunt Jenna, thinking back on what Rich had told him just yesterday... it made sense.

But he couldn't picture it.

Couldn't picture the one before him ending lives. Couldn't picture Will ripping into people or beating them to death. Couldn't imagine the desperation and fear that would have fueled every encounter that he couldn't escape from. Didn't even want to begin to think about how it would have been something of a last resort for Will to grasp onto when running wasn't an option.

But what if it wasn't just that either? What if there were times where Will had enough? Rich had said he eventually snapped, that he would spend his days covered in the blood of others. How many times had he snapped over the years he'd been wandering alone? How many times had he stopped waiting for them to find him and hunted them down instead?

But he couldn't find it in himself to be afraid of him.

He had no idea why, not when every rational part of his brain was screaming out a warning. Not when his mind was trying to get his limbs to move as far away from the other as possible. He should have been afraid, and he was sure that every rational person would have been but...

When he looked at Will, it just wasn't who he saw. He didn't see a cold-blooded murderer. He didn't see some crazy psycho killer. He saw a frightened and abused soul who had never really seen just what a good and safe, at least somewhat he guessed, place that the world could be. He saw someone who had fought tooth and nail to keep, not only himself, but others that he cared for alive.

Will might have killed people before, but it wasn't something he took pride in. It wasn't something that he wanted to do, and it sure as hell didn't change Jeremy's mind about him.

So he did the only thing he could do to express just how he felt about Will's confession, just how he felt about the darkest part of Will's soul that he had laid out bare to him.

He gently reached out and held Will's face between his hands, placed a soft kiss to his forehead, and wrapped his arms firmly around him.

"You're safe now."

The room fell into a heavy silence.

And then Will shoved him away with a shuddering breath.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Jeremy wasn't ready for the heat, the rage, behind the glare that was tossed his way, wasn't ready for the sight of the tears, big and heavy, spilling from those eyes. He stood there in stunned silence as Will furiously rubbed at his cheeks, at his eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that just wouldn't stop falling, his lips pulling into a snarl when nothing worked.

"I-I tell you that I've- that I have killed people, ended their fucking lives and you..." Will hissed, trailing off for a moment as he pressed his palms hard enough to look like it hurt against his eyes. "You- you're supposed to hate me, be afraid of me. Kick me out. Scream at me. Tell me you never want to see me again. That-that's what you're supposed to do. It's- it's what I..."

When he trailed off again Jeremy took his moment, reaching out and taking a hold of Will's hand, squeezing it in reassurance as he spoke.

"I'm not going to throw you away Will. I don't want you to go anywhere."

Any of the anger that had been on his face faded away in a blink of an eye, something newer, rawer filling them as he yanked his hand away from Jeremy and grabbed a hold of his arms.

"Tell me to go please!" Will sounded desperate now, gripping onto Jeremy's arms so hard it hurt. "Tell me you never want to see me again and to never come back. Please, please Jeremy, I'm begging you! Just say it and I'll be gone forever. It would be so much better for you. You could forget all about me, forget about all of this and move on with your life!"

Jeremy found his gaze narrowing, his heart hardening at the look of utter despair across Will's face.

"If you want to leave so bad then go." He hissed, "But I'll just follow you."

Will fell still, his face frozen in a perfect picture of wide-eyed shock, tears flowing uninterrupted from his red-rimmed gaze as his hold slackened against Jeremy's arms.

He knew Will wouldn't do it. He couldn't. He wanted to stay with Jeremy just as badly as Jeremy wanted him to stay. He would only leave if Jeremy said so. Only turn away and never come back if it was something that Jeremy wanted. But if Jeremy wouldn't give that order, if he wouldn't send Will away, then Will would stay right where he was.

"You could die." The words were hollow, as if just saying them scooped out a part of Will's soul.

Jeremy just reached across and took a hold of Will's hand. "I know."

"I-If they find me again you could-."

"I know Will."

Will shook his head, his eyes not lifting to stare into Jeremy's even as he kept his gaze on his neck, dazed and far away.

"You are so stupid."

"Okay."

"So fucking stupid."

"Alright."

"I can't believe I like you."

It was the last confession that tripped him up, that left him wide-eyed with his heart beating in this throat.

"You what?"

For his part Will didn't seem to realize just what he admitted too. Not right away at least. He just looked up at Jeremy, his brow arched at the shock in his voice before he thought back on his words. Jeremy could see the second it hit home. The second that he recalled what had just slipped out of his mouth.

They both just stood there, wide-eyed and silent as the grave, neither of them daring to be the first to move, the first to speak.

It was then that another thought occurred to Jeremy. Another reason that Will had seemed so upset yesterday, for why he never initiated anything. He actually liked Jeremy. It wasn't that he didn't want to do the things that they did, it was that it no doubt killed him to think that Jeremy was just going through the motions, that he didn't care.

Well fuck.

That couldn't have been further from the truth.

"We really need to work on our communication skills."

That apparently hadn't been what Will was expecting at all. Deciding it was better to act while he was still off his guard Jeremy quickly swooped in and pressed a quick kiss to Will's lips before he pulled back.

"Sorry that-um, you know, that- that's not our first kiss or anything but, well, um, I-I had to kiss you when I found you because you were... well, yea." He coughed awkwardly into his hand, eyes darting away to the side as the silence stretched on. "Anyway, I want to come back to that but I feel like maybe we should talk more about what you were just saying."

He finally dared to turn his attention to Will, to look him in the face as he waited for his answer.

Will seemed to be trying to shake off the shock, hiding the trembling in his hands by closing them in tight fists as he gave a small nod of his head.

"Yes. I, suppose that I should let you know about everything that happened."

Glad to see that he wasn't about to dart away or shut him down anytime soon, Jeremy gladly followed Will back to the bed, the only place where the two of them could sit facing each other. Once they were both seated Will gave another small shake of his head, as if his mind was still trying to comprehend just what had happened and what had changed. His eyes darted up to meet Jeremy's, confusion written all over his face before he got a hold of himself, another shake clearing his thoughts enough to continue with the conversation from before.

"I generally do not stay in one place long enough to have to worry about the originals finding me." Will admitted. "But I am afraid that Jason Dean informed me yesterday that all of the misleads I have set up will only last to distract them for so long." Before he continued he winced slightly, his eyes darting back up to Jeremy and then down to the space between them. "I... on the night that you found me, I killed one of the originals, a woman named Janette, who just happens to be the right hand of their leader, Reyes."

Jeremy didn't so much as flinch at the word. He'd seen what kind of shape Will had been in when they got there. If they hadn't shown up when they did, if they hadn't decided to help, no doubt Will would have been the dead one that night.

His reaction, or lack thereof, seemed to both relax Will and unsettle him.

"Rich told me that these original squips were really ruthless. But what I don't get is why they're hunting you guys down. Aren't you all part of the same team?"

"You would think." Will scoffed, giving a roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"But the younger squips were made to be... well, I suppose the easiest way to say it would be, more human."

"Seriously?" At his disbelieving snicker, Will shot him a glare. Tightly pressing his lips together to keep any other words from tumbling out Jeremy waved his hand for him to continue.

"The first group of squips were too mechanical. They thought too logically and thought that the only way that humans could survive would be to take them over and control them, a typical thought process that they really should have seen coming, but it was back in the fifties so I suppose they did have limited knowledge. As they continued to work on the next few generations, they were constantly trying to make us more and more human, I have a harder time with understanding human emotions even though I am the youngest because part of my programming is shared with Jason Dean's."

No doubt growing up the way he had didn't help. Jake and Rich got to go to school. Will had to run and hide, skip town, and disappear without the ability to trust others. He was sure there were quite a few other things to tack on there but all in all he thought Will wasn't doing too badly.

"That being said however younger squips are also able to hold more power, and were given more abilities. As you can imagine they want what we have."

"So..." Jeremy didn't want to sound insensitive, but... "why not just give it to them?" Will had told him before that they were trying to get Jenna's abilities, and while he was happy that they hadn't, he also couldn't understand why none of them would just forfeit their squipness if it meant that they could be left alone.

From the look over Will's face however he could tell that it was a pretty stupid question before the answer even passed his lips.

"Jeremy, these... we are not just..." Will let out a long sigh, his hand coming up to pinch the space between his eyes. "We can not just hand it over Jeremy. It is not that simple, it is part of what we are, who we are. If they take it from us, then we die."

Oh. So no. There was no win-win situation for these guys. It was just a win-lose sort of thing. Well. That was good to know.

Pursing his lips to the side Jeremy narrowed his eyes in thought.

He really had no idea just what he could do to help, no idea what they were even truly capable of.

"How many of them are there?" He asked, deciding that might be the best thing to know first.

"When they decided to cancel the project, they killed about one hundred and fifty of us out of three hundred that they made. Most of the originals and the last generation made it out, the middle generations were just about wiped right out of the gate. I have... at least twenty of them that have died from my hand."

Jesus. Jeremy couldn't even imagine killing one person. How on earth did Will manage twenty?

"The originals have hunted down and killed seventy five of the others." The number left Jeremy cold, his mind trying to process just what it was that Will was talking about. Seventy-five kids, like Jake and Rich and Micheal and Christine. Like Will. They had hunted down and brutally murdered them all, for nothing more than power. "I... I couldn't get to them all in time."

It took a moment for Jeremy to really let it sink in. To let it be known that while he'd been growing up worrying about things like baseball cards and crushing on the cute girl in math class and freaking out about finding the drummer guy in band hot during middle school, Will had been wandering around the country trying to locate and save the others while making a constant moving target of himself to draw the original squips away.

"As it stands now they have fifteen members left, and there are only thirty-nine of the ones that just want to live normal lives and be left alone."

And at least four of those thirty-nine were here. And here had Will, and Jenna, and Rich and Jake. If they came to this school then they would take all four of them away, and who knows just what they would do to Christine and Micheal. Will hadn't mentioned what they would do if the hosts that the squips might have were involved. He had no idea if they would just leave them be or if they would kill them off as well in order to keep their mouths shut.

"Jeremy I need you to understand this." Suddenly Will's tone was very stern, his hand reaching out to grab a hold of Jeremy's, his hold tight and unyielding as Jeremy looked deeply into the bright baby blue of his eyes. "I do not know if Jason Dean is right. I do not know if they will come at all or how long we will have if they do. I can only say that they will be out for blood. That if they find me they will indeed intend to kill me." Jeremy held on to his every word, barely even breathing as he listened with rapid attention. "I need you to understand this so that you realize the danger that you and your friends could be in if you decide to let me stay with you."

Seeing what he was getting at, a frown formed over his lips, his brow creasing with deep lines as he stared down at the other.

"You're still not going anywhere Will."

"Jeremy you..."

"We'll tell the others." Jeremy interrupted. "We'll give them that choice. If they don't want to be a part of this then we'll go somewhere else. Anywhere else."

"But what about your schooling?"

"Fuck school." Jeremy hissed, turning his hand so he could intertwine their fingers together. "This is more important." He loved the bright red that appeared over Will's cheeks, loved the way that he tried to cover it up with a weak cough to cover his face.

"Jeremy please take this seriously."

"I am." Jeremy insisted. "We're in this together now Will. Besides, if we have to go on the run we could just do online schooling."

"Jeremy..."

"My decision is final." Jeremy said. "And no matter what you say, I'm not changing my mind."

Will glared at him a little for that. Looking as if he wanted to strangle him, but Jeremy just smirked back. With a little tug of his hand he pulled Will forward just a little, smiling up at him somewhat shyly now as he tightened his hold on the other's hand.

"But whatever happens from here on end, I'll have your back now, okay? You don't have to do this alone anymore."

The smallest whimper that Jeremy had ever heard slipped passed Will's lips, but his squip quickly turned away to hide just what the full effects of Jeremy's words did. Jeremy didn't mind though, Will had already opened up to him enough for one day.

"And Will, I like you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So, this no doubt wasn't the talk that you guys were all waiting for! XD Sorry about that but at least now they know that they like one another! :D


	32. Chapter 32

"Will!"

Christine's chipper voice made both of the boys start, the knife in Will's hand clattering to the top of the counter as Jeremy scrambled to try and catch most of the lemons before they fell to the floor.

The rest of the group filed in behind her, finished with their classes for today. Rich and Jake even skipping out on their swim lessons apparently if they were here this early to check up on their friend as soon as they could.

Jeremy couldn't help but noticed the look of relief that washed over Rich's face at the sight of his best friend, and without even being aware of it Jeremy found himself shifting closer to Will. He wasn't sure why but he had a strange urge to place himself between Will and his friends. Even though he knew that they would never do anything to hurt the guy, and that Will no doubt could do far more damage to them, he still couldn't shake off the image of Will laying on the forest floor, cold and lifeless.

He never wanted to see that again.

But he hesitated, backing away a step when Christine came down the three steps to the main floor, zooming her way over to Will who had turned from the counter to face her. He forced himself to back off when she smiled up at his squip, when she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and told him how happy she was to see that he was doing well. Forced himself to bend over and snatch up the one or two lemons that had managed to get away from him earlier and fallen to the floor. If only so no one would see his face, see the scowl set over his lips and the creases in his brow.

"Jake and Rich told us you got sick and needed rest." He heard her say, purposely turning his body to place the lemons back on the counter and away from the two of them. "We've still been training, Jake and I have gotten much better at our bond. I can speak to him from halfway across campus now."

He risked a glance at her from over his shoulder, guilt weighing heavily at him from the glowing smile over her features, from the little smile that was settled over Will's own lips as he gave a slight dip of his chin in a nod.

"That's great, good work Christine. I'm very impressed."

But those words, they had him snapping his head back around, had his heart tightening in petty jealousy that he tried to push back.

Christine wasn't his enemy here. None of them were. And they all had their own squips, their own hosts, he didn't need to worry about them trying to steal Will away. Besides, Will had already confessed that he liked Jeremy. Just what was he so worried about?

"Um, I hate to be that guy but, did you really just get sick Will?"

Even Micheal's voice had Jeremy tensing. The closeness of it, the closeness of Christine, of all of them. He suddenly felt crowed. Suddenly felt his mind rearing on high alert, his thoughts jumping from one thing to another but always circling back to the focus.

Reaching out he grabbed a hold of Will.

And his mind instantly settled.

He took in a deep breath, the shimmering rage blowing away like ashes on the wind as he felt the steady pulse of his heartbeat underneath his fingers.

Will was here. He was here and he was alright and he was safe.

Finding himself able to relax now he turned to face his friends, his friends, not his enemies, never that, and gave them all a small smile.

None of them seemed shocked by his hand around Will's wrist, they had grown use to the two of them having to touch each other every once and awhile if only to help settle Will when he was being overprotective. He couldn't help but wonder if they would raise a brow to know that Jeremy was doing this for his own good and their own safety rather than needing to keep Will calm.

"Actually could you guys all sit down for a bit? There's some stuff we need to talk about."

If any of them were shocked by him taking over the conversation they didn't voice it, instead settling themselves around the eating area before they got into it. Christine and Jake sat at the tiny table, taking a spot to face the group while Rich jumped up on the counter, just far away to be out of Will's reach that it set Jeremy's mind at ease. Micheal took the spot next to Rich, leaning against the counter and into his boyfriend.

"So what happened?" Micheal was the first to ask, his brow arching as he turned to face Will.

"I burnt out." Will stated simply, pressing forward before anyone could interrupt. "It seems that Jason Dean is going to be more of a problem than I first originally anticipated."

Just hearing the others name coming from passed Will's lips had Jeremy tightening his hold. Had his face slowly consorting into a blank icy rage. He pulled Will closer, needing him to be closer, wrapping one arm around the upper part of his chest and over his shoulders, the other arm wrapping firmly around his waist. He pulled Will against him, resting his forehead against the others shoulder, not able to bring himself to look at anyone, only wanting to feel the warmth of the living person in his hold, only wanting to feel the rise and fall of Will's breath.

They hadn't talked about it. In all the time they had before anyone else had come back from school, Jeremy hadn't brought up just how he had felt seeing Will laying on the ground like that, to see his eyes so lifeless. They hadn't spoken about how for those first few seconds of seeing Will in that clearing, Jeremy had thought that he was dead. How he'd thought that he lost him.

It hadn't been brought up in their initial conversation, not with everything else that Will had to say, but it was definitely going to be something he was going to talk to Will about later.

So for now he just held him. Mentally taring the unknown image of JD apart in his mind to pieces. He didn't even know that it was possible to hate someone he had never met so deeply. Didn't even know he could hold these kinds of malicious feelings towards someone he didn't even know the face of, but he did.

His actions this time did cause a silence amongst the group. It was to much, to intimate to be written off as anything other than what it was, but even so he couldn't find it in himself to care. Will didn't seem to mind, if anything he understood, a light pressure against the shields in Jeremy's mind had him dropping them as he held on to Will tighter.

I am alright.

I know.

He could feel Will shifting, feel his fingers wrapping lightly around Jeremy's wrist near his upper shoulder, could feel his body relaxing, the tension melting away at the soothing circles that Will traced against his skin with his thumb.

"I did not think that there was anything that Jason wanted from me and so therefore I assumed that he was not a threat." Will pressed forward in the conversation, if he was getting any looks he didn't bother to comment to Jeremy on them.

So Jeremy just continued to hold him, unable to do anything but listen as Will explained to them the same way that he had explained the situation to him. About JD's warning to leave, about a mystery person that he had somewhere on campus, about how the older squips might eventually come back and attempt to kill him, about just why they would do that.

No one really said anything to interrupt. Jake and Rich no doubt already knowing a majority of the information and tucking away things that they didn't know to sort through later. Micheal and Christine stayed silent as well, not once opening their mouths to voice what they thought about the situation or to interrupt Will.

Jeremy felt bad for his friends, all of them. None of them should have been going through this, and he hated the fact that they were. He wished that the others could have had a normal life. Wished that there weren't others out there who were trying to take it from them.

But wishes never got anyone anywhere. So Jeremy waited. Waited to see just what their opinions were going to be. To see what choice everyone would make. To see just what kind of move he and Will would be making next.

When Will finished Jeremy finally lifted his head, but just enough so that he could rest his chin on Will's shoulders, so that he could look out over the faces of his friends and try to see just what their answer would be.

None of them said anything. Rich was glaring down at the floor, Micheal's face remaining oddly blank even if his grip on the counter left his knuckles bone white. Jake was holding Christine's hand, his eyes turned towards the table top while Christine... Christine was looking right at them.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth drawn up into a tiny, thin line. She just sat there, looking at them, looking as if she had never seen either of them before, as if she couldn't see either of them right before her, her gaze long and clouded. Yet she was the first to speak. The first to move as she got up from her seat and moved towards them.

Jeremy didn't know what to do when she drew near, wasn't sure just how to react when she rounded the table to approach them.

He could feel Jake watching him carefully, even if he never once took his gaze away from his small friend. He just tightened his hold on Will, pulling him back even further against himself as she reached out and took a hold of one of Will's hands.

"I don't know what to say to you." Her words weren't what any of them had been expecting, but Jeremy didn't bother looking around to see the looks of shock over the others faces. "I-I'm sorry Will, for what you had to go through, for what you had to do."

"I would also like to apologize Christine." Will said, his hold tightening over hers. "If I had known that I would have brought this to you, to all of you, I never would have come here. It, was never my intention to bring these types of decisions to you."

"So, just let me back up a step here." Micheal said, finally pushing himself away from the counter, one hand coming up to rub at his brow. "So you... okay so there are good squips and evil squips, and for the last few years you've been distracting them and killing them and trying to stop them from killing others like yourself but now you've killed one of their main people so they have some sort of hate on for you and they might be able to track you down to this place eventually to kill you and us alongside you? Did I get that right?"

Although Jeremy didn't appreciate the tone in his friend's voice, he understood where Micheal was coming from.

With Will being here it might as well have been them painting a target on all of their backs. It was like putting a bounty on their head with no 'alive' option. He could understand that Micheal was freaked out.

"Mostly." Will admitted, his voice oddly calm for the situation. "Although I believe that is a simplification, but yes, while me killing their members has always left them to hunt me down, with killing Janette I am afraid that I have poked a hornets nest with you all beside me. Although if I leave they should be fine to leave you unknown and out of harms way."

"Than leave."

"You're not going anywhere Will."

Rich and Micheal tossed a glare at one another. It was the first time that Jeremy had truly ever seen them disagree on something. The first time he had ever seen them truly angry.

A long pregnant silence followed, Micheal and Rich not once turning away from each other as they continued with their silent conversation, no doubt speaking just what was on their mind over their bond. Eventually Rich snarled, hopping off of the counter and snarling at Micheal as he marched up to him, jabbing a finger in his chest as he spoke.

"We are not just throwing him out like that Micheal!"

"There are people who might be coming to kill us Rich! I don't know about you but I prefer life!"

"We have to help!"

"Help what!?" Micheal snapped, his shouts reaching a new level as Christine shifted a little closer to them, Will wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tucking her to the side while Jake slowly stood from the table. "Am I the only one who seems to understand what he's asking us for?" Micheal hissed, turning to face the rest of them as he pointed his finger towards Will. "How do we make these people- these squips stop Will? How do we keep them from killing us hm? We have to kill them first right? That's the deal? That's how it works?"

For a long moment, no one said anything.

Jeremy hadn't thought about that. He'd thought that they would just go on the run and draw them away. Thought that maybe if they stood their ground here... well, honestly he supposed that his mind had never seen it as an outcome. Will had admitted to killing the others before. But Jeremy hadn't allowed himself to think of maybe turning the tables, not him, not them. He'd thought that they could all just head out together, but Micheal was thinking of the end game, of just ending it all.

He wasn't thinking of the day by day. He was drawing up the final conclusion, and when it boiled down to it, that was just what it was.

Even if they did run. Even if they stayed. At the end of the day it was really going to be whoever was left standing. Either it would be Jeremy and his friends, or it would be them. And there would be no way that they could fight against them, no way that they could win against them, without all of them fighting, without all of them doing what they needed to in order to survive.

Which meant killing the ones that threatened them.

After all they couldn't turn to the police. They couldn't turn to their parents or their government. They couldn't turn to anyone. They were on their own for this. They were going to have to be the ones who pulled the trigger.

But there had to be another way. Had to be something else that they could do. Will hadn't said just what that could be, and he'd spent years living this life. If there was something else to be done, he would have known what it was.

"If that's what it takes," it was Rich who finally stepped in, who drew Micheal's gaze back towards him as he glared up at his fiancee, "than that is what we'll do."

Micheal just stared him down, his shoulders rolling back to make him appear even bigger compared to Rich's small stature.

"No."

Micheal seemed fine to leave the conversation at that, moving around Rich, heading towards their room without a thought to add more. Rich was quick to turn however, quick to reach out and taking a hold of Micheal's wrist to keep him from leaving, drawing the others eyes over his shoulder.

"If you send Will away Micheal than I'm going with him!"

Micheal turned on him so fast Jeremy almost didn't even have time to blink. But he didn't raise a hand to Rich, didn't even so much as take a step towards him as he all but snarl at Rich after he'd knocked his hand away, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

This was getting ugly, but no one was stupid enough to get in between the two as snapped and hissed at each other.

"You wouldn't last more than a few days without me there." Micheal seethed. "Remember? I'm your host. You can't just take off without me. And even if you did how long do you think you would last before you'd be more of a hindrance than a help? They can't give you energy Richard," Hearing his full name made all of them flinch. Micheal never called him that unless he was pissed, and that never happened, "you'd burn out within a few days and I imagine that dragging along a burnt out squip doesn't make things like running or fighting very easy to do."

Rich seemed at a loss for words. His jaw was locked so tight that Jeremy could have sworn that he could hear his teeth grinding from where he stood, could see the way that his little body shook in barely contained rage as his hands curled into tight fists at his sides.

"If you do this I'm breaking up with you."

His words weren't a hiss or a yell. They were barely a breath above a whisper, but they seemed to slam into Micheal as if they had been a physical hit.

Jeremy's heart broke as he watched Micheal's face crumble, his best friend staggering back a few steps as if he'd had the wind knocked from his lungs. His eyes were wide, tears instantly springing up to fill them, but not falling as he struggled to choke down a breath of air.

A small noise slipped passed Will, but when he made a move towards them, when he parted his lips to say something, Jeremy quickly placed his hand over his mouth and pulled him back in close. There was no way he was going to allow Will to step into the middle of this. No way he was going to allow him to draw Micheal's attention towards himself right now.

The moment of shocked passed, Micheal swallowing down the pain, the regret as he turned his back on them once more.

"It's for your own good Rich."

His words left Rich stunned, unable to move until he'd gotten to their shared room and quietly closed the door.

It only seemed to be when Rich heard that soft click, when he realized just what choice Micheal made for them both and why, that Rich snapped.

Taring the ring off of his finger, something Jeremy had caught him looking at with an overwhelming amount of pride and joy since he'd received it, he threw it across the house, right down the hall that Micheal had walked. As the tinkering ding of it slamming against the wall and than falling to the ground echoed around the house Jeremy moved one of his hands from Will to place it on Christine's shoulder at the muffled sob that escaped her as Jake scooped her up in his arms.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Rich's scream seemed to tare right out of him, as if a part of his soul was leaving along with the words. Tears were streaming down his face, his shoulders shaking, his chest heaving with heavy, heart wrenching sobs as he dropped to the floor, his legs no long able to support him.

It was only than that Jeremy let Will go, allowing him to run over to his friend as Rich's cries grew harder, almost to the point of hysterical as Will wrapped his arms around him tightly.

He watched wordlessly, knowing better than to step in as Rich's cries became so heavy he almost couldn't breath. Watched as Will whispered things he couldn't hear into Rich's ear while the blond clung to him so tightly his fingers turned white. Watched as Will slowly eased Rich off of the floor and lead them to their bedroom, choosing not to follow after them as Will closed the door behind them.

There was no way that he was going to interrupt them right now. Rich needed Will, and having Jeremy there wouldn't help in the slightest. So he decided that sleeping on the couch for the night would be the better idea.

Pressing his lips into a thin line he let out a long sigh, raising his hands to press the palms of them against his eyes.

He had a feeling that, that could have gone a lot better.

"Jeremy."

Dropping his hands he tilted his head slightly toward the last two standing there.

His heart instantly seized at the tracks of tears rolling down Christine's cheeks, at the fear and sorrow echoing in her gaze as she clung to Jake.

"Tell Will not to leave."

He found himself blinking at her words, hearing them, but not fully understanding them as he just continued to stare at her.

"I-I, this has been... a lot to take in." She admitted, wiping at her face quickly but pressing forward despite the tightness in her voice. "But make sure that he- that neither of you go anywhere. I just want a few days to process this, to try and think of something. There-there has to be another way. I just- I just need some time to-to..."

He could tell that she was slowly slipping. Tell that even though she was trying to remain strong, she was crumbling.

He couldn't say that he blamed her.

Reaching out he took a hold of one of her hands, squeezing it tightly as he tried to offer her a reassuring smile.

Although she couldn't smile back at him, she did squeeze his hand, her tears slowly coming to a stop as she sniffled.

"Thank you Christine."

"Hey Christine, would you mind going to our room for a moment? I want to speak to Jeremy."

Jeremy gave a glance over at Jake, but Jake's attention was fully on the small girl in his arms. He continued to coo gentle words to her, kissing her forehead and running his hands up and down her arms to try and sooth her. Jeremy kept his mouth shut as he watched her nod her head to whatever it was that he was saying, but said said nothing as she made her way towards her room.

It was only once their bedroom door shut that Jake turned to him, and Jeremy found himself tensing.

It wasn't something that had passed by his mind before but it didn't take a genius to see that Jake and Will didn't hold the same relationship that Rich and Will did. It was something that Jeremy had noticed but never comment on since they got along just fine as friends but they lacked the closeness that even Jeremy and Micheal had. He had no idea just where Jake was going to sit on this whole thing.

"I've never been as close to Will as Rich has. I only knew him a few years after he started defending other squips, and even than it was only briefly before we managed to escape, but he's sacrificed a lot for the rest of us. You have my word that I'll do whatever I can to help."

Jeremy felt the air escape from his lungs, the solid, reassuring hand on his back helping to calm his mind.

"Thanks Jake, that means a lot, and I'm sure it will mean a lot to Will too."

Jake flinched as his gaze shifted over to Jeremy's and Will's shared room, no doubt wondering if maybe he should pop in to see how the two of them were doing. He might not have had the buddy-buddy best friend thing going on with Will, but he and Rich sure did.

"This was, not how I imagined that this talk would go." Jeremy admitted, pulling the others attention back towards himself. "I-I don't know what I was really thinking would happen but, I can't say that I blame Micheal, and I wouldn't blame any of you guys if you want us to go either, if you know, if you guys decide to send us away. I..."

"Jeremy, it's okay."

His mouth snapped shut, his gaze shifting over to Jake as he patted his shoulder.

"Well, I mean it's not really, but we'll figure something out. We have at least some time. Nothing has to be decided right now."

"Yeah," Jeremy muttered, allowing himself to be pulled out of the kitchen and towards the living room couch, "I guess you're right."

"Everyone's been through a lot today and it's going to take a while for all of us to digest what happened. Gives us until tomorrow morning to let it really sink in and than we'll go from there."

Jeremy couldn't keep his gaze from shifting from his door to Micheal's and back again, his stomach dropping as he wondering just how both of his friends were doing.

"Do you think that Rich and Micheal..?"

The look over Jake's face was enough of an answer, his shoulders sinking as he dropped himself heavily onto the couch.

"It... it might take them a little while. I wouldn't push either of them to hard right now."

Nodding his head along with the others words dumbly Jeremy didn't know what else to do other than to stay where he was. Dropping his head back against the couch he let out another long sigh, his eyes sliding closed as he tried to run through everything in his mind.

"I'll see you in the morning Jeremy."

He just waved, barely able to find the motivation to lift his head as he listened to the door clicking shut.

The last thing that he had wanted to do was to do this to his friends. He hadn't thought that the outcome would land them in this situation. Hadn't thought that it would have been something that would have effected Micheal and Rich like this, that it would have effected Christine and Jake like this. He could see now that he had been naive in his thinking, that his own emotions had blinded him to the full situation.

He still wouldn't take back the words he had said to Will. He would never do that. Everything that he had said still held strong. They were in this together no matter what, but he had never really thought about just what he would have to do when it came down to it. What he was really asking the others to do if they were the ones who were going to be hunted. He didn't blame Micheal for not wanting that kind of life. Didn't blame Micheal for not wanting Rich to get dragged back into that kind of life.

But he hadn't been expecting that. Hadn't thought that it would cause the people that he cared about to fall apart like that at the mere thought of it.

It was no wonder that Will had kept himself isolated for so long, and Jeremy couldn't help but morn the fact that he couldn't be holding him right now to let him know that it was okay. That none of this was really his fault. But Will was trying to help Rich and he couldn't interrupt that. He wouldn't.

So Jeremy stayed, sitting on the couch as he listened to the tears that swam around his head from every direction of the house.


	33. Chapter 33

It was around three o'clock in the morning when Jeremy was startled awake by the click of a door opening.

Snapping up to attention his eyes darted around the whole area with one quick glance, his body falling boneless against the couch at the sight of Will.

"Oh, it's just you."

He didn't mean it as an insult, just a bit of an observation. While he normally was a heavy sleeper, all of this talk about the other group had admittedly placed him on edge, but he still offered his hand out to Will as his other hand rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. Without taking his hand and without saying a word, Will slipped onto the couch, crossing his arms tightly over his chest and tucking himself under Jeremy's arm in the blink of an eye.

Jeremy didn't say anything, allowing his arm to drop across Will's shoulders while they both stared forward at nothing. It had been a long night for them both, and even though Jeremy hadn't been in the room with either of the two, he had listened to their voices until Rich had fallen asleep. Sure he couldn't make out what they were saying but he wanted to make sure that if things seemed to be getting any worse on their end, he was able to jump in to help. He'd even tried to talk to Micheal, tried knocking on his door an hour after he'd retreated to his room. When he'd gotten no response he'd tried to get in through his window, but it was locked and the blinds were drawn and he wouldn't open it no matter how insistently Jeremy tapped his fingers against the glass.

"I have messed everything up."

Will's words were quiet, hollow, Jeremy's gaze being drawn towards him as he waited for him to continue.

"I- We should leave. I should leave."

When he made a move to get up Jeremy held on to him tighter, forcing him to stay where he was even as the muscle of Will's jaw tensed.

"You wouldn't make it out there on your own Will, not anymore. You need me to keep you going remember?" He questioned, his words not unkind as he turned himself to face more of Will.

"I do not need to keep going. I just need to draw them away."

The idea of what he was thinking about, of what he was implying, left Jeremy cold, his whole body tensing.

"Don't." His words were short, final, making Will's head snap around to face him, to snarl at him, his brows narrowed in rage, even if his eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

"It would be better for you all." Will hissed, once more making a move to detach himself from Jeremy, pushing against him to try and create some space between them. "If you had never found me in the first place then none of this would be happening and you could have continued to live on in your peaceful life without-"

"Will, stop."

"Jeremy you do not understand-"

"Stop."

He'd had enough. Grabbing a hold of Will's hands he held onto them tightly. He knew that Will could easyly tear his hands away. Knew that it would have been all too easy to overpower someone as weak and frail as Jeremy, but he didn't care, he knew that Will would never do anything to truly hurt him.

"Just breath."

He wondered if Will noticed it. Wondered if Will could tell that he was on the verge of falling into a panic attack. Wondered if Will even knew that he could have one of those things that were so typically human.

Will's fingers tightened into fists in Jeremy's hold, his eyes refusing to look up pass Jeremy's chest, his lips pressed into a tight line.

"I need you to know that this isn't your fault."

His words were like a zap to the other, Will's body jerking as if they had been a physical jab to his person. But Jeremy just held on tighter, locking that gaze with his own the second that they turned to him.

"Jeremy you do not seem to understand. If I-"

"It's not your fault." He repeated, his words turning soft, tilting his head to bring them closer together, his one hand releasing Will's to rise up and carefully cup his cheek, brushing his thumb over the smooth skin. "None of this is your fault. You didn't ask for this to happen okay? You didn't go out of your way to make it deliberately worse. They're the enemies here. They're the ones in the wrong. Not you."

"But your friends-"

"Are letting it sink in." Jeremy said, shifting slightly closer, or at least, as close as he could get on the couch.

"Micheal and Richard made their choice." Will countered, the overwhelming guilt of just what had happened to his best friend shining clearly in his eyes.

At this Jeremy's lips pulled to the side. He couldn't deny that the conversation had ended in the worst possible way for his best friend, or that he wished that it had gone better, but... He could see how Rich didn't want to leave Will's side, and he could see just why Micheal didn't want anything to do with it. He could only hope that maybe, after he had some more time to sleep on it, to think it through, Micheal would change his mind. And if he didn't then Jeremy could only hope that Rich would one day forgive him for it and they would get back together even if Jeremy and Will were far away.

But he could understand why this hurt Will, could understand why it was killing him.

Rich was his best friend. To think that he might have played a role in making him miserable, in messing up something that had been so perfect, it would haunt him, even if it was nowhere close to the truth. But Will couldn't take the blame for this. He hadn't deliberately gone out of his way to break them apart. He'd simply explained the situation, a situation that he hadn't even been ever able to disappear from, and had waited for their answer.

No one could fault him for that.

Yes. Will had basically told them that they might eventually have to kill other squips. Yes, he had told them that they all now might end up with a target on their backs because he was staying with them and if the group found them all together they would be wiped out but... Jeremy needed him to know that those weren't his choices.

The sad part was that, Will didn't ever really had much of a choice.

He'd been created by humans who didn't know what they were doing, born by a parent who didn't want him, beaten by his fellow squips simply to gain favor of others, fought back in order to keep himself alive and help others. And then, when they finally got free, when they miraculously managed to escape being terminated, he should have had the chance to be free, to be able to live without the threat of violence, and maybe, maybe he could have, if the others weren't so hellbent on hunting them all down.

How on earth could anyone fault him for asking for help after all of the years that he had tried to survive alone?

But he was getting off topic he supposed.

"Micheal," Jeremy gave a slight pause. He needed to think through his words carefully. "is just worried. He doesn't want Rich to get hurt, he doesn't want any of us to get hurt. I'm going to talk to him, but I don't know if this is something that he'll change his mind on." He admitted, deciding it would be best to go with honesty. "But honestly Will, if he does or doesn't, I'm sure that he and Rich will end up back together. They're too perfect to not to."

Will scoffed at that, his eyes growing hard and distant as he placed his hand over Jeremy's.

"Perfection does not exist Jeremy."

At that Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle, shifting just a little bit closer as he drew Will's attention towards him.

"I don't know about that. You seem pretty perfect to me."

Will's whole face flushed, Jeremy unable to help but coo at him slightly, only a slight tinge of regret passing through him when the other pulled back, adding some space between them.

He could understand though. Understand that while Will allowed it to happen, he wasn't too interested in pushing any further. Not right now anyways. Not when there was so much more going on. So Jeremy allowed him to sit back, to just rest against his side as he once again placed his arm around Will's shoulders.

"Thank you."

The thanks seemed to come out of nowhere, catching Jeremy off-guard as he tilted his head down to the one he was speaking to.

"What do you-?"

"For letting me speak with Rich," Will said, his eyes not rising to stare at Jeremy, but the light blush over his face telling him all he needed to know. "For letting us steal the room, for letting him sleep in there, for asking him to apologize, which seemed to come out of nowhere might I add. Honestly I did not even know that he yelled at me when I was burnt out and obviously I forgave him for it, I would have reacted the same way, but thank you for... for saying something in my defense."

Jeremy couldn't help the fond smile that pulled at the corners of his lips as he stroked his thumb soothingly over Will's arm, allowing him to speak as the squip took in a deep breath.

"And I just... I want to thank you for everything, Jeremy." Will continued, "I know that I do not make things easy and that I fight against everything that you try to show me or tell me but, I feel the need to let you know that your attempts are appreciated."

Jeremy chuckled, nuzzling the male's cheek with his nose gently before he moved to kiss the top of Will's forehead. The blush over his face intensified, and Jeremy grinned at the adorableness of it as he tightened his hold on Will just the slightest before he relaxed.

"You're worth every struggle, Will." He assured.

"Even right now?"

They paused, neither one of them willing to speak into the silence as the question hung in the air. Jeremy knew what his answer was going to be. Even if he was going to be dragged through hell, he would do anything to help Will get himself out of this mess and into a normal life. He just wished that Will could see that he deserved to be happy for once. That he deserved to have someone at his back. That he deserved to have someone watching out for him for once.

Even if his friends didn't agree and they didn't decide to go with them. Even if Micheal never wanted to speak to him again for leaving behind his own life. Even if he had to leave behind his life of safety and normalcy, Jeremy didn't care. It should have been Will's turn long ago to be able to blend in with the rest of humanity without feeling the burn of a target on his back, and Jeremy wasn't going to stop until they both had a normal life that they could thrive in. Even if his group's idea of normal was a little outside the box.

"From now until forever." Jeremy confirmed, moving his hand up to run gently through Will's hair. "We'll figure something out Will, don't worry."

Will didn't say anything. He simply moved his hand up to grasp at Jeremy's, wrapping their fingers together as he kept his gaze forward.

Jeremy didn't press him to talk, didn't press him to say whatever it was that was on his mind. He just held on to him tighter, both of them staring into the abyss as they waited to see just what would happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So my Beta actually sent me this chapter instead of chap 32 so luck for you guys you get two updates in a week. XD Also I felt kind of bad just leaving you all to be stuck thinking about that chapter for a week because of everything that happened with Rich and Micheal, so here! So Jeremy/Will fluff! :D Well ish anyways. :) I'll reply to reviews for chap 32 and 33 next week on chap 34! :D Have a great week my lovelies! :D


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait Wait Wait! For those of you who just skipped to this chapter please know that I actually posted two chapters last week! Chapter 32 and chapter 33! Go and read 33 now if you haven't already! Thank you! :D

The following morning was... awkward.

Already everyone had been up for about two hours, and yet no one had uttered a single word to each other.

Rich and Micheal wouldn't even look at each other, pointedly turning away whenever they were near each other and placing themselves on the opposite sides of the area when they could. It was actually rather painful to watch. Seeing the look that rested over his best friend's face whenever Rich wasn't looking, seeing the secret looks that Rich would shoot over at Micheal when his back was turned... It killed Jeremy to see them this way, to see them hurting so much and wanting to do something to change it, to bring it back to the way that it had been before, but... they weren't going to change their minds, neither of them were going to cave in any time soon and Jeremy didn't know what to do about it.

Christine and Jake weren't saying anything either. While Christine had smiled at them both, the action had been strained, heavy under the weight of the decision that she had to make. Dark circles smudged under her eyes showing just how late she had stayed up last night thinking about it. She even missed her morning yoga. Instead using the time to sit at the table drinking black coffee from a giant mug that took her two hands to hold, her gaze blank as she stared out the window. Jake sat next to her side, not bothering to grab anything to eat as his attention remained on the table top, every once and a while darting up to check on Christine.

Will was sitting at the couch.

He hadn't said a word. His back rim-rod straight as his legs were crossed at the ankles, resting on the top of the coffee table, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his chin held high. The scowl set firmly over his face might have made him looked pissed, but Jeremy knew he was pouting and trying his hardest not to fidget in the thickness of the atmosphere. He'd wanted to leave the second that Micheal had emerged from his room, but Jeremy had made him stay, hoping that if they could get this over and done with then everything might feel a little less tense later. They all just had to be around each other to get over the initial shock, to try and learn how to move pass it.

As it stood Jeremy was sitting on the counter, his own cup of tea in his hand, his gaze able to watch everyone from where he was.

His eyes moved to Rich, the most animated of the group as he marched from one place to another like he was on a mission, as if this was his last few hours on earth and he was sprinting through them. He arched a brow when Rich scooped up his bag, eyes darting over to the clock to confirm that it would still be another hour before class and that Rich didn't have swim practice this morning. That didn't seem to stop Rich from making a beeline towards Will, standing just a little off to the side as he arched a brow at his best friend while Will took a break from his glaring competition with the wall to turn to him.

"Coming?"

The sudden invite made Jeremy tense, the thought of Will being out there without him sending a spike of fear shooting down his spine as he fought with himself to stay seated. He didn't want Will out there without him, not while this JD guy was wandering around, but... he was going to be with Rich, and at least this time it was morning and there would be other people around so that should have also helped. Will had only been targeted because he was alone, completely isolated in the late night in the deep of the woods. It wasn't a shot that JD would get a second time.

Besides, as much as he wanted to, he didn't want to tell Will that he couldn't go. Didn't want to control just what he could and couldn't do. They would look out for each other. And they would reach out to the others if they had a problem. Even if Micheal was pissed, Jeremy knew that he would go running to defend Rich if he was in trouble.

The thoughts helped to ease his mind, but even still he couldn't help a small, possessive part of himself from grumbling over the fact that he wanted to walk to school with Will. That he didn't want to share his time with him with Rich. But Rich was making it very clear that this invite was for Will and Will only. Jeremy wasn't that much of an idiot to butt his head in somewhere it didn't belong.

Besides, he could have Will all to himself later.

That idea left his mind purring, his shields dropping enough to reach out to Will, caressing the bond between them softly.

Have fun. If you run into a problem let me know, okay?

He watched as Will's head tilted, almost turning to face him but stopping before he could.

You are fine with me going with Rich?

I don't own you, Will. Just be careful, okay? And check in every ten minutes.

Forty.

Twenty.

Do you not think that is a little too much?

At his question Jeremy found his gaze narrowing at the back of the other's head, his lips pinching to the side as he watched Will get to his feet.

The last time you were gone it was no longer than thirty minutes. If you don't check up every twenty minutes I'm going to think something bad has happened to you to prevent it. Every twenty minutes, check in.

As Will scooped up his backpack from the floor, he stole a glance over at Jeremy, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips that left Jeremy's stomach flipping.

Sir yes, sir.

Jeremy choked, his face flushing as he ducked his chin to cough into his hand, hoping to avoid the stares of the rest of the group while Will slung his backpack over his shoulders.

The two didn't say anything to anyone else as they left, even though the look that Micheal was shooting Rich with no doubt burned his back. When the door shut behind them, Micheal wasted no time on turning on Jeremy, his face livid as he swung his hand out towards where the other two had left.

"How can you be okay with this?!"

His hiss caught Jeremy off-guard, not knowing what to do as Micheal marched up to him, his hands now running through his hair as if it would help sort out his thoughts.

"I just don't- how on earth can any of you be okay with this?" He continued, snapping his attention over to Christine who frowned at him and Jake who turned away. "He is literally saying that we have to kill people or die! Why are any of you debating it!?"

"Micheal," Jeremy tried to keep his voice calm, he'd never seen his friend so... he couldn't even find the right word to describe it. Micheal looked as if he was about to fall apart. Looked as if he was barely holding on. He didn't know just what he could say in order to make him feel better, he didn't know if there was anything that he could say.

So he didn't say anything, his voice trailing off into nothing as Micheal turned back to him.

"Jeremy I know that he's your... I know that no matter what happens you have to go with him but I can't..." Micheal's voice broke, a few tears slipping from his eyes that he was quick to wipe away as he took in a deep breath. "I can't lose Rich." His voice was wavering, barely above a whisper as he shook his head. "I just, I can't. He's... I can't let him get hurt."

Jeremy's heart broke, his hand rising to rest on Micheal's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as if that might somehow help the turmoil his mind was going through.

"I, I don't care if he hates me but I... I just keep seeing Rich in Will's position, the first night that we found him, all bloody and barely holding on, and I keep seeing Rich's face and him in pain and broken and..."

Micheal couldn't finish, his voice going tight, tears now flowing down his face as a loud sniffle filled the room. "I, that was only one member of the group that might be coming. One person, or squip or whatever, just one of them managed to do that much damage to Will. To the guy who spent his whole life fighting against them. I just... I, we haven't practiced much of anything, we didn't even know just what all of this stuff was until a little while ago and now..." Micheal trailed off again, taking the time to wipe at his face with the sleeve of his hood. "I can't be the only one who understands that we wouldn't stand a chance."

His words left a cold drop in Jeremy's stomach. Realistically, he knew that Micheal was right. What chance did they have against such a large group of super smart supercomputer human hybrids with different abilities that they knew nothing about?

"If we were to go against them alone, we would lose." It was Christine who spoke, who stood from her chair and walked over to the two of them. "Micheal listen," she spoke softly, reaching out and taking a hold of his hand, but she didn't force a smile to her lips, didn't bother to try and lessen anything that she was about to say by making it seem like it wasn't a big deal, "we could die, we could be hunted down just for knowing Will."

Jeremy flinched at the blunt and honest way that she pointed it out, flinched at the way that it was Christine, their normally bubbly, 'all is right with the world' friend who was forcing them to try and see the bigger picture.

"But we will end up making the wrong choice if we don't stay together in this." She said, nothing but sheer determination written across her face. "So we don't know what we're doing and we're untrained. We could change that. They could teach us, Will could teach us what we need in order to survive. We could fight back, not just for ourselves but for the others out there that could be hunted down next. So that our own friends, Jake, Will and Rich, don't have to continue living with the fear of being hunted anymore."

Micheal didn't meet her gaze, he couldn't, and Jeremy's heart broke just a little bit more as he watched his best friend pull away from them.

"I-I'm sorry Christine I just..."

"You don't have to make a choice right now." Christine said, her voice as soft as the smile over her lips. "But please, just continue to train with us for now, just continue to learn. That way if you do choose to stay behind you at least have some way to defend yourself."

Jeremy could have kissed her. He could have reached over and cupped her cheeks and laid a big smacking kiss right on her lips, but he just smiled at his friend, not sure if he would ever be able to find the words to show just how grateful he was to have a best friend like her.

Micheal didn't say anything for a long minute, his gaze turning from the floor to her as his lips pressed themselves into a thin line. After a great pause he finally gave a single nod of his head, turning not even a moment after and scooping up his backpack from the floor.

They all chose not to say anything as he headed out, Jeremy waited until the door clicked shut before he let out the long breath he'd been holding.

"Thank you."

It didn't seem good enough to express just how grateful he was to her, but Christine beamed at him all the same, her little hand coming up to rest on Jeremy's shoulder before she spoke again.

"Jake and I are with you. If you go or if you stay. We'll be right beside you."

He couldn't even begin to describe the amount of relief that flooded into his body, the amount of gratitude that he held for the both of them as he fought back against the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks as he looked over her shoulder to nod his head at Jake.

As promised. I am checking in.

Jeremy almost laughed, the sound coming out in a strangled sort of way as Christine removed her hand while he brought his hand up to squeeze at his eyes.

Jeremy are you alright? Your mood seems to be-

I'm okay Will.

Jeremy interrupted before the squip could finish. Without giving it a second thought he reached out and wrapped his little friend up in his arms, Christine hugging him back just as tightly.

Christine and Jake are in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Hey guys! :D Welcome back! :D So, come exciting news, to me at least, maybe you guys won't care. XD but anyways, I started a account! It's this really neat website that allows people to support creators and some of my favorite youtubers are doing it so I thought I'd give it a try! You don't have to if you don't want to but if you'd like to go take a look at it, the website is on my profile page! (Seriously I tried typing the link in here twice in a few different ways and it still wouldn't let me. XP). Check it out if you've got a spare moment.


	35. Chapter 35

Will was honestly surprised at the news that he was told, and although he knew that he should be, he couldn't feel any form of relief coming to him. Instead his chest tightened, his heart hammering hard against his ribs as his fingers tapped at his thigh, his lips pinching to the side of his mouth as they continued to walk aimlessly around the school.

It was far to early for classes, but neither of them had been able to sit still for more than a few minutes, leaving them with no other choice than to wander around the large building. Even though Rich had asked him to walk with him to school, he hadn't said much of anything, in fact, neither of them had spoken a word to each other, their minds to lost in their own thoughts to voice anything that was running through them.

But from the look that had flashed over his face, Richard's attention was drawn over to him, his hands tightening over the straps of his backpack as he tilted his head slightly towards Will.

"Everything okay?"

He couldn't lie to Richard, he never wanted to, but he wasn't really sure just how his friend would react to the news.

"Christine and Jacob will be fighting with us."

His words fell into the air with a hollow echo, Richard's steps faltering for all but a moment before he managed to catch himself.

"You don't sound very happy about that."

And Richard sounded even less pleased than he was.

Will couldn't help it though. He knew that he should have been grateful, and really, he was. He never dreamed that they would have ever agreed to the options that he laid down before them. His mind was still trying to wrap around the startling fact that they hadn't just thrown him out of the house the other night, but... He didn't want his friends to die for him either. He didn't want them to have any part of this. He didn't want to push that kind of choice on them.

It killed him to think of how much better all of their lives would have been if he had just stayed out of them. It killed him to think that if he would have just allowed himself to die than none of this would have been happening. As much as he hated to admit it, His fa... Jason Dean was right, the lives of his friends weren't worth his own. He had no right to ask them to do this, to drag them into it. He wished that they had said no. That they would have kicked him out and forced Jeremy to stay with them so that he wouldn't get hurt. The last thing that he wanted was for them to agree to come with him, to stay by his side if anything were to happen. He wanted them, all of them, to be far away when things would end up going down. He wanted them to be safely tucked away somewhere, not standing next to his side when the bullets started to fly.

He knew that Richard would hate him for it, but he couldn't help but be somewhat glad that Micheal had refused to side with them. While he didn't get any joy out of the suffering that his friend was going through, he knew that he would feel worse if he had to watch the blond bleed out in his arms. To have to watch as he could do nothing to stop Richard from dying before his very eyes while Micheal would cry over his corpse.

He'd been glad when Micheal told him no.

He couldn't find it in himself to share Jeremy's enthusiasm over the fact that Christine and Jacob had said yes.

"It is not my wish for any of you to be dragged into this." Will admitted, following after Richard as he travelled up a flight of stairs.

At his words Richard gave a snort, ramming his shoulder into the door for the fourth floor as he turned just enough to face Will.

"Dude, I don't know if you've forgotten, but me and Jake are Squips too. They would have eventually come for us, and you know it."

Probably better than anyone. Even so Will couldn't find it in himself to smile back at his friend as they continued on down the hall.

"I mean, ya, me and Jake have been living a pretty good life since we got out of that stupid lab but... we all knew that it could only last so long. It was probably a good thing that you came when you did. It was a good reminder." Richard said, a shrug accompanying his words. "You didn't drag us into anything Will. We're all already marked."

It was the truth behind his words that made Will bite his tongue. The absolute acceptance at the statement that had shame welding up inside him as he shoved his hands into his pockets to hide their shaking.

If he could have done a better job, if he wasn't such an absolute failure, he could have erased those words from Richard's very mind.

He'd tried. For years and years to draw the others away, to get rid of the ones that caused everyone so much pain and suffering, but in the end he still wasn't strong enough for it. There were too many of them, and he hated the fact that he wasn't enough, that he was to weak to protect those he really cared about. He tried, but he failed at every turn.

"Oh good. I was wondering when you two would finally get here."

The two snapped their attention over to another hall, drawing themselves to a stop at the sight of Jennifer leaning against the archway, her eyes glued to her phone.

"Jake told me what happened." She muttered, finally looking up as she pushed herself away, walking up to them as her sharp eyes narrowed in on Will. "You okay?"

Although Will hated the idea that she knew about just how pathetically he'd been bested once more by his... by Jason, Will nodded his head. Relief flooded her features, but only for a moment until her lips were pulled up into a somewhat forced smile, as if she didn't entirely believe him, as she gave a solid pat to his shoulder.

"Knew you would be."

He smiled at her, taking a moment he didn't normally have to look her over, to see just how much she had grown from the frightened child he'd managed to rescue before it had been to late. She was so confident now, so strong willed in her ways. While he didn't always get along with her or agree with her, he had been glad to see just how well she had been doing when he'd pulled her aside all those weeks ago. To see that she was moving forward and continuing to grow despite the nightmare she had lived through. True after he had saved her and set her free, running into her here had been a shock, and one he wasn't sure he could trust. He'd been betrayed by those he'd helped before, but he'd been glad to see that she was just trying to live her life. She deserved it.

"I appreciate your concern Jennifer."

"Did you manage to find anything?"

At Richard's question Will couldn't help but slid his eyes over to his friend for a single moment. So much had been going on lately that he hadn't given it much thought but just what had they been up to while he'd been recharging?

He chose to stay quiet, to observe as she nodded her head, jerking her chin down the hall she was in. Wordlessly they followed after her, towards a classroom that had been left open.

"So here's what I managed to find out," she paused only long enough to make sure that the door was firmly locked behind them, each of them taking a quick glance around the room to check for any other students before she continued, "JD's in the area, he's been staying at Noon Till Night, it's that cute little B&B on James Street, anyways, he hasn't contacted any of the others, although I highly doubt you guys are surprised to hear that, but here's the thing," She took her phone back out, swiping her finger across the screen before turning it towards them, "I've caught him multiple times with this woman."

Will arched a brow at the pictures. He knew the woman, it was one of Jeremy's teachers, Heather Sawyer. He hadn't bothered to do to deep of a search on her, after all he did believe that people were allowed to have their privacy as much as he had invaded Jeremy's at first, but now he was regretting the decision. Still, if the look on her face and the way she seemed to be trying to get away from Jason in each of the photos was any indication, there wasn't warm feelings shared between the pair.

Was this the 'she' that Jason had mentioned? Was this his host? They looked to be around the same age, could this have been an old school mate of his from the first field test that they had tried out? If that was the case than he couldn't help but wince for the woman. From what Will had heard and from what he had managed to dig up, that test had... not gone as planned. While it had been whispered about among the rest of them for years Will had been shocked to know just what it was that had gone wrong.

He still stayed up some nights wondering just what a different place the world would have been if Jason had succeed in killing every student in that school. Even now he shuttered to think of how the parents would have felt to have their child torn from them in such a violent manner.

"Hey isn't that..?"

"Heather Sawyer." Will finished for him, passing Jennifer back her phone with a small frown. "Have all of their interactions been this way?"

If so he could say he was impressed. It didn't look like she was backing down at all to whatever it was that Jason was saying to her, and not many people did that and lived to tell the tale. He could only wonder just how many of her nightmares involved the black wearing Squip. He'd bet nearly all of them.

"All the ones that I've seen." Jennifer shrugged, sliding her phone back into her back pocket.

"Have you ever managed to get close enough to hear what they're talking about?" Richard asked, hopping up onto the surface of the teachers desk, kicking his legs back and forth as Will leaned against it next to his side.

At his question Jennifer turned away, her teeth worrying her bottom lip while her one hand came up to run through her hair.

"I-um, no I... didn't want to get that close."

Didn't want to draw Jason's attention towards her. Didn't want to invoke his outrage if he caught her.

Will could respect that, she'd already done enough and he wouldn't wish for her to suffer at Jason's hands anyways.

"Well, I imagine that neither Jacob or Richard were able to get word to you yesterday about the situation." Will said, knowing that he was right when she gave a slight shake of her head. "Seeing as how you have become involved with this I think it is only fair to allow you in on what I was told." He couldn't just leave her blind. If she was risking her life by spying on Jason for them in order to find out what was going on she deserved to know about the threats that he had levelled against Will. Because it didn't just effect him, it effected all of the Squips in the area as well. "The night that I met Jeremy and he became my host I had been fighting with Janette."

"Oh shit, Will..."

He pushed forward, just wanting to get it all out of the way as he raised a hand for silence. "Reyes is out for blood more than ever now and even though I have set up a countless number of misdirects, Jason had warned me that it will eventually lead them back here, placing everyone in danger."

"Okay." Jenifer muttered, her brows pinching together in thought. "Since when did he care enough to warn you about anything?"

"Since I have apparently involved myself with someone he cares for, I can only imagine that it is Heather Sawyer."

"And he wants to make sure that the others don't get her in the crossfire." She said, realization dawning on her face. Not even a moment later however and she was turning back to Will, her brows narrowed in thought as she shifted her weight over to one foot. "So what are you going to do now?"

At that, Will didn't have much of an answer for her. Sure he knew that they would eventually end up leaving, but he still wasn't sure when or just what was going to eventually push them to do so, or even where they would go. Everything was still a little up in the air and they were really going to have to sit down sometime soon and figure out just what it was that they were going to do. But for now...

"Well, Christine and Jake have already agreed to go with him when things get bad." Richard grumbled, his bitterness at not being able to join them shining clear though.

"You're not going?" Although Jenifer's words were said without any type of heat behind them, Richard still snarled openly as his heels gave a particular hard smack into the desk. His arms uncrossed, his hands moving to the empty space between his knees to grip at the edge of the desk as if it was the only thing keeping him from jumping down and slamming the thing into the wall.

"Micheal's being a fucking coward."

"Richard." There was no bite to Will's tone, his gaze holding even as Richard snapped his head around to aim the heated gaze at him. "You know that is not true. Micheal is concerned for your well being. He does not wish for any harm to befall you."

As they spoke Will caught Jenifer's gaze snapping down to Richard's hands from the corner of his eye. She didn't say anything for once at the sight of the missing band from Richard's finger.

"Bull-fucking-shit." Richard snarled, his rage only growing as his grip tightened, the wood whining in protest beneath his fingers. "He wouldn't even listen to me." Just as quickly as the rage was there it was snuffed out, his eyes lowering to his hands as his words wavered. "He didn't even give me a choice."

The room fell silent. Will didn't know what to say, didn't know what he could do to make his friend feel better. Sure while he agreed with Micheal on not wanting to join Will, he did have to admit that he went the wrong way about it.

"This might not be the right time," Jenifer said, taking a few slow steps towards the two, "but, if you're going to be leaving to fight these guys Will, I want in."

Arching a brow at the one before him Will wasn't sure just what to say. It was bad enough that he was placing some of his friends in danger, he didn't want to drag people that he'd already gotten out of that life back into it.

"Jenifer while I am beyond..."

"No, shut up. It's happening." She said, a smirk pulling at her lips as she crossed her arms over her chest in victory. "And don't even think about trying to sneak out and leave me behind. I can still track your ass you know."

"Send me pictures." Richard grumbled, hopping down from the desk.

"Of Will's ass or their corpses?" The complete seriousness in her question left Will sputtering, his face flushing when Richard tossed a lazy look his way.

"Hm, both."

"Richard!"

"What?" Jenifer snickered, sliding up to Will's side, a smug smirk over her brightly painted lips as she poked him between the ribs. "Can't blame the guy. Admittedly you do have a nice ass Will."

How on earth had the conversation gotten to this?

One hundred percent done with the two Squips before him, Will crossed his arms firmly over his chest, fighting down the dark blush over his face as he glared at them both.

"If there is nothing that anyone else would like to add, than I suggest that we exit the room before someone is in need of it."

"Ya, wouldn't want to be caught in here all together and have people think we were involved in some kind of threeway." Jenifer snickered, breezing passed Will as he tried to think of just what it was that she was talking about.

As Richard followed after her, Will fell in behind, deciding that now was close enough to his check in time.

Checking in.

As he closed the door he couldn't help but add on,

Jenifer is in. From now on she will be included in all of our training as well as any further planning.

You mean Jenna Rolling? Okay, I guess that makes sense. It'll be good to have her around.

He didn't want to admit it, but being able to hear Jeremy's voice helped to settle his nerves, his breath coming to him easier as he placed his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to stop talking to Jeremy, not just yet anyways, but he wasn't sure what else to say.

What is a threeway?

Although he couldn't see the other, he could feel the shock shooting from down the bond, and briefly he hoped that Jeremy hadn't been eating or drinking anything when he'd asked his question. He had a horrible habit of choking in his shock.

Where on earth did you hear that!?

His question was nearly a shout, and Will found himself hissing in discomfort as his hand shot to his ear before he could think to stop it.

Jenifer.

There was a long pause, and for a moment Will figured that Jeremy just wasn't going to answer him, but than...

It's when three people have sex together. It's also known as a threesome.

Will nearly tripped over his own feet, his face flushing even brighter red than before as he quickly collected himself. Of course Jenifer would know such a vulgar term.

Is it... is it something that you're interested in trying out?

At Jeremy's question Will gave a violent scoff, rolling his eyes as he continued to follow behind the two Squips.

Please, as if dealing with you alone is not enough. I have high doubts about you actually being a virgin.

Who said I am?

Will found himself blinking, barely catching the door to the stairwell before it could slam into his face. He supposed that it should have been obvious, Jeremy was far to good at... well, ahem, those activities, to be some sort of novice but...

One of the first thoughts I ever got from you before you learned how to make shields was that you did not want to die a virgin.

A heavy flicker of amusement floated down the bond, stroking at the walls of Will's mind as he jogged up the stairs after the others.

I didn't mean like a virgin-virgin.

Will wasn't so sure that he liked the humour in Jeremy's voice as he scowled at his own stupidity.

I meant like, well, you know, um, a furry virgin.

Furry virgin? What the ever living hell was that?

Trying to sort through all of the thoughts and memories that he had collected from Jeremy over the time that they had known each other, Will dared to wander into his more... private ones. To the ones that he had tried so hard to block out after he'd gotten just a glimpse at them. It didn't take him long to figure out just what it could be.

I completely forgot you have an animal fetish.

It's not an animal fetish!

The loudness of Jeremy denial left his ears ringing, but Will couldn't help but scoff at his attempts to redeem himself.

I don't want to have sex with animals! It's just that... well, I uh, I just think it's hot when people have like, you know, tails or ears and what not.

Not sure where to go to from there Will allowed the bond to fall silent, but Jeremy seemed to be the one that wasn't done yet as he pushed forward.

Hey Will, do you think you might...?

Absolutely not!

Will didn't even allow him to finish that sentence, his face already boiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Aw! Please!? I think you would look absolutely adorable in kitty ears!

No.

Come on William,

He nearly tripped up the last few steps as the sound of his full name filled his mind with a low rumbled, a seductive claw trailing down the barriers of his thoughts, a shutter travelling down his spine.

I'm sure you'd be the perfect little sex kitten, and I know just the way to make you purr.

His words were accompanied by an image. Of Will on his back, wearing only those stupid fucking kitty ears, his back arched and head tilted back with Jeremy's hands on his hips and his tongue...

This time when the door fell shut, it did smack Will right in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: 'Ello everyone! :D So this is a day early but it's Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada and I got today off but I have to work tomorrow so I thought I'd just post it now. :) Anyways, happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and I hope the rest of you have a great week! :D : XD Will and his sass eh? XD I just couldn't help putting it in there. XD I could just imagine him saying it. XD


	36. Chapter 36

"Oh my god Will what happened to your face!?"

Jeremy ducked his head to hide his smirk at the glare that was tossed over his way the second that Christine's question flew from her lips.

"Lost in thought." Will muttered, removing the ice pack from his nose as he did so. "I did not see the door."

Jeremy couldn't help it, he slapped his hands over his mouth and tried to contain his laughter. It didn't last long however before a sharp shock travelled along his body, tensing all of his muscles into stillness before he shot his own glare at Will.

You deserved that.

Without sparing him another glance Will placed the ice pack over his bright red nose again, wincing slightly before he continued on his conversation with Rich. Jeremy scowled slightly, but he supposed that Will did have a point. He wasn't really playing fair this morning but it's not like he could help it, Will brought it out of him.

Placing his bag on the bench he sat across from Will, Christine sitting before Rich while Micheal sat on Jeremy's other side.

Aw, did I tease my poor little Kitten to much?

He couldn't help the smirk on his face at the glare that Will slid over to him, no one else in on their silent communication.

Play nice Jeremy, remember cats have claws.

Before Jeremy could think of a response for that his body jerked, his forehead slamming into the table top when a flaring pain shot up his shine.

"Jeremy what the hell? Are you okay?" Micheal's voice drifted over his ears, but it didn't do anything to lessen the throbbing in his leg or his pride as she shifted his head up to rest his chin on the table top.

"I'm okay."

Will was smirking at him, a single brow arched with his chin resting in his hand, but even so Jeremy couldn't help but grin back.

So I guess the cat ideas growing on you hm? You didn't deny it.

The reaction was instant, Will's cheeks flushing bright red and the smug look that once sat over his face falling to pieces at the call out. Jeremy snickered, giving a shake of his head as he straightened out, ignoring the confused looks of everyone else at the table.

"Well," Jake was the next one to speak up, placing his tray next to Christine's as he shrugged off his backpack and sat down, "how were you're classes?" He questioned, drawing all eyes to him as he leaned in. "Anything happen?"

Rich shrugged, choosing not to answer no doubt based on the look that Micheal was shooting at him, and turned back to his lunch.

"Nothing to report." He muttered before stuffing a forkful of mac and cheese into his mouth.

Will on the other hand looked as if he didn't agree, turning in his seat to face the table as he set his eyes on Jake.

"Actually..."

"What's up my peeps?"

The addition of Jenna came as no surprise to Jeremy, but he did find himself having to bite his tongue when she slid into the seat right next to Will's side.

"Oo, what's that? I want it."

He fought hard not to say anything when she swiped a small wrapped package from Will's tray, all but leaning over him as she did so. Really he wasn't sure just when they had become so chummy, but he found himself shooting a somewhat passive aggressive glare at Will. For his part Will ignored him completely as he pushed Jenna away from his personal space.

While Rich, Will and Jeremy were in on what was happening, he felt bad for not mentioning anything to the others at the look of shock over their faces.

"Oh!" Christine said, being the first to find her voice. "Is Jenna..?"

"In on it? Hell ya. I say it's about time we make the others run for a change." She grinned, the smile over her face borderline predatory as she stole yet another piece of food off of Will's tray.

"Get your own food."

"Wait a second." Micheal interrupted, looking between all of them before he turned to Jeremy. "Is she a..?"

"Squip?" Jenna finished, arching a brow at Micheal and drawing his attention slowly back to her. "Well, obviously. What else would I be talking about?"

"I had no idea." Christine admitted to no one in particular, her mouth open in shock.

Jenna turned to her friend, her overly cheery mood dimming in guilt as she reached out her hand to grab a hold of Christine's from across the table.

"I'm sorry that I never told you. I wanted to but..."

"It's okay." Christine interrupted quickly, taking a hold of her friends hand and giving her a warm smile. "I understand. Besides, how could I not forgive you if I forgave Jake?" She snickered, a blush rising to Jake's cheeks from her side.

Jenna just grinned back, lightly patting the tiny hand of her friend before she sat back in her seat. Jeremy stabbed his fork hard into the fresh salad Will had made him just that morning when her arm slid around his Squips shoulders.

"So when are we getting this pony show on the road? I don't know about the rest of you but I haven't been squiping out in a long time. I'm a little rusty." She said, letting out a long suffering sigh before leaning into Will heavily. "So, tell us boss man, when's the first training section?"

"Technically," Will started, removing her arm from his shoulders, his face pinched in distaste, "we have already had it."

"Le gasp! Without me?"

"Well, let's face it Will." Micheal grumbled from across the table, eating his own helping of the cafeteria lunch, he'd refused to take the lunch Will had made him this morning. "That was before any of us knew that our lives were on the line." Will didn't react to Micheal's tone, but Rich silently threw him a glare from next to Will's side. "So maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to start over."

"What? Suddenly change your mind about tagging along?" Rich scoffed, turning his eyes back to his food with fake mild boredom when Micheal's gaze turned to him.

"No." His words were final, and Jeremy could tell that Rich was acting hard not to show anything, but he could see the slight clenching in his jaw. "I just figured that it might not be a bad idea to learn."

"Another choice you made on your own hm?"

The table fell into silence, no one knowing what to say and suddenly finding the table and floors very interesting.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

And now Jeremy was really wishing that he was anywhere but here right now. Oh shit, he really hoped that they didn't start something in the middle of the cafe. Who knows just what they might end up screaming to each other and giving them all away?

He wanted to get up and leave, feeling like he was intruding on a private conversation, but neither of the two involved seemed to care about the spat they were having or the spectators around.

"Oh nothing really." Rich growled, his words biting at their ears from across the table, his gaze finally darting up to zero in on Micheal, flashing blue as he spoke. "Just seems that you're going to be making the choices for the both of us from now on. What does my opinion matter? Want to start picking my college courses too?"

"Rich stop it."

"Is that an order?"

Micheal's mouth snapped shut, realizing the corner he was backing himself up into when Rich's lips pulled back in a snarl.

Um, Will should we lea..?

No.

Taring his eyes away from his best friend he glanced over at Will. But Will wasn't looking at him. He wasn't even looking at Rich. He was watching Micheal.

His whole body was tense, his gaze focused in on every move that Micheal made, every breath that he took. Jeremy couldn't help but fear for his friend. While Will didn't seem to care about Micheal's dislike for himself, Jeremy was sure he was ready to fight if he upset Rich any further.

William, don't kill Micheal.

That caught Will's attention, his eyes shifting over from Micheal to Jeremy who could only plead with him soundlessly from the sidelines. But it seemed to be enough. Will relaxed, but he did turn his attention back to the one next to Jeremy.

I would not kill your friend Jeremy.

Will assured him.

But I am not above putting him back in his place if he crosses the line.

Well... Jeremy supposed that was fair enough. But he knew Micheal, the guy would never do anything to hurt Rich. He was doing this whole thing to protect him. To make sure that he didn't get mixed up in anything that could get him hurt or worse.

"Rich..." Micheal stopped himself, clearing his throat as he dropped his gaze to the table. No words seemed to be able to come up, nothing able to follow after the small utter of his name. His brows pinched together as his tongue swiped out to wet his lips, Jeremy reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder only to have it knocked off gently. "Rich I..."

"Save it."

The words might as well have been a death sentence. Micheal's face crumbling as Rich stood up from the table and jerked his tray into his hands.

"I've lost my appetite, I'll see you guys at home."

Will traded a look with Jeremy, and Jeremy could only find it in himself to give the barest of nods before Will scooped up his tray and quickly caught up to his best friend.

Jenna's lips pinched together, her gaze following after Will before moving around to the rest of the table.

"So..." Stretching out the vowel she slowly slid out from her seat, jerking her thumb in the direction of the other two, as if she needed any of their permission to leave. "I'm gonna go with them. I'll talk to you guys later."

Jeremy gave her a halfhearted two fingered salute, his lips stretched thin.

No one said anything as they watched the three Squips leave through the cafeteria doors. Micheal didn't touch another bite of his food, his fingers wrapped loosely around his fork and just resting on his tray, his eyes never once moving away from the doors that Rich had disappeared behind. Jake and Christine didn't say anything, but from the slight expressions shifting across their face Jeremy had no doubt that they were holding their own conversation in their minds.

Without knowing what to do Jeremy could feel an air of awkwardness drifting up around them. He couldn't even find it in himself to eat his own food, every forkful just tasting like ash the moment it hit his tongue. He wasn't sure if there was anything that he could add, any point that he could make or any hope that he could give. He felt utterly useless as he sat there, not able to do anything to help ease the mood or rest the minds of his friends.

"Christine! Jeremy!"

The bright and chipper voice caught him off guard, the body sliding into the seat next to him even more so as Brooke's blindingly white smile startled the occupants of the table.

"I've been looking around for you all day. Did you get any of my messages?"

Jeremy blinked stupidly at her question. In all of the 'excitement' over the last few days, he completely forgotten to even check his phone. He had no idea if it was even still charged or not.

"Oh, uh, n-no, sorry." His words were jumbled, stumbling passed his lips sheepishly as she simply shrugged.

"It's fine. Christine told me that Will got sick, I figured you were taking care of him."

With Brooke's bright and cheery personality, no one noticed as Chloe sat on the other side of the table, right across from Jeremy, so when she spoke, everyone found themselves jumping at her sudden appearance.

"What did little Will catch anyways? A little late for it to be a fall fever isn't it?" She arched a finely groomed brow with her question, her gaze focused on no one other than Jeremy.

He found himself wanting to shrink in her presence. Something about Chloe had always unsettled him, even if he couldn't place just what it was, but he forced himself to met her gaze, to not fold as he met her stare right on.

"Not sure." He lied, going for a careless shrug as he poked at his food with an air of nonchalance. "Must have just been a bit of everything."

The way that her gaze narrowed made him wonder just what it was that she knew. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something that was on her mind, or if there had been some way that any of them had slipped up around her, but he couldn't think of anything. Still, the suspicion in her gaze was unsettling, and as much as he didn't want to let it show, he was also very much willing to change the subject.

Although he knew that there were countless things that they needed to talk about as a group, there was no way that anyone was going to say a word about any of their issues. Not with the others here. How on earth would they be able to explain just what they were talking about?

So he changed it to something simple, something safer.

"Was there something that you needed to talk to me about Brooke?"

Her brightly painted lips pulled up into a large smile as she nodded her head so fast he wondered how she didn't get dizzy.

"Ya! I was just going to ask if we were all still going to that place to sing Broadway karaoke? And I wanted to know if it was okay if Chloe could come along too?"

He could feel everyone sitting beside him freeze.

They had completely forgotten about that. In light of everything else that had happened in the last few days it was safe to say that it was the furthest thing from their minds. Jeremy had been so caught up in everything else that had been going on that he hadn't even thought to message Brooke and tell her that there was no way that they would be able to make it. Not with everything else that was going on. Not with all of the other things that they had to worry about. They just didn't have...

"Of course!"

Christine's voice broke him out of his thoughts, his head whipping around to stare at his best friend from around Micheal as she beamed at the other two girls.

"The more the merrier and I really think that we could all use a break and just have some time to hangout together without having to worry about anything."

It was obvious from the way that she spoke that her words were directed more at them than the two other females at the table, and Jeremy couldn't find it in himself to protest.

Maybe this would be good for all of them. Maybe it would end up helping to ease some of the tension going on between them. Besides, if they were going to have to leave soon than this could end up being their going away party of sorts, and it seemed like a missed opportunity to just not go when it might be their last time seeing each other.

If things didn't end up working out...

"We all just went out for drinking and dancing a few days ago." Chloe put in, turning her sharply done up eyes to Christine. "What could have possible happened that you need a break from?"

For a moment, no one at the table spoke, but Christine, god bless her, managed to spring up again as she spoke to her friend.

"Oh you know, just being around each other all the time sometimes just causes people to be put on edge. This will be a good way to smooth it out."

"Are things going okay with you guys?" Brooke's voice was quiet, just able to catch Jeremy's attention as the others around the table started up the conversation of when and where.

There was a small frown on her lips, her brows pulled together in question as Jeremy turned to face her with a small smile.

"For the most part." He muttered, unable to lie right out now that he was forced to stare into those big brown eyes of hers.

She bite her lip, her eyes darting to the side for a moment as she seemed to contemplate her next words. Once she decided on what it was that she wanted to say, she leaned in a little bit closer, her voice even lower as she whispered to him.

"Are you and Will okay?"

Jeremy found himself stunned, not sure just what to say as he blinked at her while she waved her hands out in front of her.

"Not that it's any of my business I know!" She said quickly, hushing herself once more before she continued. "It's just that, I don't know if I should be telling you but, I think that Will was really upset at the bar the other night, about you, and me." She said, Jeremy's voice catching in his throat as he wondered just what it was that Will had said. "He seems to think that you like me and that I like you and when he asked me about it he just started muttering that he knew it before he let me answer and than you showed up and well, you know..." She trailed off, her gaze directed to her fingers as she fidgeted in her seat. "It's just that, I don't want there to be any, you know, bad blood or anything between me and Will because I really like you Jeremy, but, you know, as a friend and well, um, I don't want there to be any kind of, I don't know, misinterpretation? I just..."

Unable to help but smile at her Jeremy reached out and took a hold of her hands, easily closing them around hers and drawing her gaze back up.

"I understand what you mean Brooke, and I think it's very sweet that you were worried about us."

Maybe he himself had been reading the signs wrong. He'd thought that Brooke had liked him to, but maybe she was just being friendly, or maybe she was just happy to have someone that she could talk to without judgment outside if Christine. After all, now that he was really thinking about it she never hardboard any kind of negative feelings towards Will when she thought that he was with Jeremy. Jeremy could have just been reading what wasn't there because she smiled at him and was nice to him and enjoyed talking to him.

Although he felt somewhat like an idiot and a bit of an asshole, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders as he lifted one of his hands to rest on her shoulder.

"Will and I actually had a good talk just the other day and I think we're finally on the same page. Everything's going great so don't worry okay?"

The smile of relief over her lips pulled one to his own as she beamed up at him.

Not even a second later however and he felt a sharp pain shooting up his leg for the second time that day as he let out a loud yelp.

"Hands off of my girlfriend asshole."

"Chloe!"

Chloe huffed at the scolding from Brooke, but didn't drop her glare from Jeremy as he rubbed at his leg. Man, and he'd thought that Will's kick had hurt. His sneakers had nothing on pointed toe heels. Jesus Christ.

"I wasn't doing anything." Jeremy muttered, shifting his legs as far away from her as he could.

"You two are dating?" Micheal asked, Chloe not pulling her attention away from Jeremy as she growled out her answer.

"For the past few weeks."

"Well, congratulations." He muttered.

The alarm on Jeremy's phone thankfully chose that time to go off, alerting him of his next class as he all but jumped to his feet.

"Well guys, I have to head to my next class." He felt bad about being relived to go, but all of them just smiled at him in understanding as Jake stood up as well.

"Ya, me too. I've got some books that I want to grab from the library before my next class."

Waving to his friends as the rest at the table continued to chat away about this and that Jeremy turned and headed for the door.

Checking in.

Unable to help but smile at the little chime Jeremy pushed the door open.

How's Rich?

He is doing as well as one can expect.

Well, Jeremy supposed that was fair enough.

How is Micheal?

Not doing so great himself.

Not that, that was to surprising.

Okay well, I'm heading off to my next class Will. Don't be late for yours.

Sir yes Sir.

A hint of smug amusement followed his words down the line, and Jeremy couldn't help but wish that Will was standing before him as he purred back down the bond.

Careful Kitten, I think I'm beginning to like the idea of you whimpering that title on your knees.

Just to further tease Will he sent an imagine down their bond, a simple and quick one of Will on his knees before Jeremy, with fluffy, black kitty ears perched atop his head, wearing nothing else.

Will cursed him out from where ever he was, and Jeremy could only laugh as he entered into his next classroom.

Watch out for doors Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Hey everyone! :D Hope you all had a good week! :D


	37. Chapter 37

"Oh-,"

"Sup my peeps?"

"Jenna's here." Jeremy finished, his eyes darting over to Will as he closed the door behind the others.

His lips pinched to the side at the sight of her pressed firmly against Will's side, her eyes on her phone as Rich puttered away at this and that in the kitchen. He wasn't so sure just how much he was going to like her hanging around if she was going to constantly be hanging off of Will. Actually, that might be something that he should nip in the butt before it got out of hand.

"Wow! Our little house is sure filling up with people." Christine chirped, bouncing down the stairs and towards the couch. "Are you going to be staying with us from now on?"

"Well, until you guys leave." Jenna grinned, finally lifting her gaze up from her phone to smile at her friend. "I thought it would make more sense so I could get in more one on one training time with Will."

"Yippy." Jeremy muttered, his tone flat as he walked behind Jake down the three steps to the main floor.

His sarcasm went mostly unnoticed by the group, Jake being the only one to throw him a small grin from over his shoulder as Micheal walked up beside Christine.

"So just when are you planning to leave?"

Micheal question was directed at no one other than Will, as if to remind him that he thought that this was all his fault, as if he was trying to say without so many words that Will could leave in the middle of the night without the rest of them.

Forgetting about Jenna, Jeremy found himself moving in by Micheal's side, gently knocking the back of his hand against his friend's to try and catch his attention.

"Micheal..."

"What?" Micheal growled, not even bothering to toss a glance to the one next to his side, not even caring that he was drawing the attention of the rest of the group as Will blankly stared back up at him.

"Just drop it." Jeremy muttered, turning to face his friend as he placed a hand on his shoulder, catching and holding his gaze. "We'll figure it out tomorrow, but for now just let it go."

Micheal didn't seem to want to agree with him, but he backed off, tossing anther glance at Will from over Jeremy's shoulder, having one last question.

"You'll watch out for them right?"

Jeremy blinked, the whole group unsure of just what to think about that as the two held their stare.

"You have my word."

Without being able to add anything on to that Micheal backed off, moving towards his room without another word.

Sharing a glance with Will, Jeremy quickly trailed after his friend when Will gave him a slight nod.

He left the rest of the group to chat among themselves, to figure out just what the next steps would be and just what they should do for their training as he followed Micheal back to his room. He managed to catch the door seconds before it closed, slipping in and closing it softly while Micheal dropped himself on the edge of his bed.

If he knew that Jeremy was in the room or not he didn't say, his gaze empty as he stared off into nothing, his head tilted towards the floor while his hands hung uselessly from his knees.

Jeremy wasn't sure just what to say, but he knew that Micheal couldn't make this a habit. He couldn't keep shutting himself away from everyone else in the group. It was already going to be hard enough for him when they would have to leave.

Slowly, he moved himself over towards Micheal, taking a seat next to him as carefully as he could.

"I'm sorry."

He wasn't expecting Micheal to speak first, and the fact that he had startled Jeremy slightly. He kept his mouth shut though. If Micheal wanted to speak, Jeremy wasn't going to interrupt.

"I-I know that this isn't... that this isn't really Will's fault I just..." He trailed off, his hands moving up to the drawstrings of his hoodie before he could push forward. "I just, I keep thinking that if you guys leave, that when you take off... that it will be the last time that I see you. And every time that I look at Will that's all I can think about."

Jeremy opened his mouth, but before his brain could even think to say anything Micheal whipped around to face him, his brows pulled together as his hand came up and clamped down on his friend's shoulder, keeping him in place.

"We're not these people Jeremy." He said, his voice sounding desperate as he wet his lips. "We're just college students. We play video games and do homework and sometimes go to parties. We don't go around fighting supercomputer people, we don't train to get ready for some type of inevitable showdown. This isn't who we are!"

"I know." Jeremy muttered, his voice growing stronger as he placed his hand over top of Micheal's. "I know, it's not who we were, but Micheal, we can't just let them fight this alone. There are people out there who need our help." He tried to explain it, tried to make his friend see the bigger picture, but Micheal was already shaking his head and pulling away. "We have to help them Micheal, whatever it takes, we have to do what we can."

"I can't." His voice was weak, broken, and Jeremy didn't know what else he could do, what else he could say, to make Micheal see just how serious this was.

"You have to."

"I can't Jeremy." Micheal snapped, pushing him away as he got to his feet, pacing a few steps away before he turned back to face him. "Don't you understand what this means? What could end up happening if you go after this group? You guys don't even know if they're coming here. You don't even know if they even know where you are, and you're talking about getting up and leaving so that you can just knock on their door. Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? We could stay here and just continue on the way that we always have and they could never come by."

"JD said that they would end up finding us. He said that..."

"You mean the guy who's been trying to kill Will since he was born?" Micheal laughed, his voice nearly manic as he threw his hands out. "The guy who just about suck him dry of energy- of his life force!- a few days ago when he finally saw him again? Your taking his word for something that's basically a suicide mission? Did it ever occur to you that he's sending you guys out there knowing that you won't be coming back?"

Well... that thought hadn't really occurred to Jeremy honestly. But he supposed that Micheal did have a point. Just how far was JD willing to go to try and kill his son? But than again if that was his intention than why act now rather than later when Will was alone and a much easier target? Why give Will that story about there being someone at this school he was trying to protect?

But this wouldn't get them anywhere. Guessing and second guessing himself over and over, trying to make Micheal see his point, see just what might happen if he stayed behind, trying to convince him to go with them, it wasn't going to go anywhere.

Taking in a deep breath he forced himself to calm down, to close his eyes and try to think for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

There wasn't anything else that he could say, nothing else that Micheal would listen to.

"Fine." His words were a mumble, his hand coming up to rub at his eyelids before he pushed himself up to stand as well. "I can see that I'm not going to change your mind about any of this." He sighed, moving closer towards his friend. "You've made your choice and I have to accept that- but," holding up a single finger he made sure he had the others full attention before he continued, "you have to start being nicer to Will."

"Jeremy I..."

"No." Shaking his head he frowned at the other, not willing to hear his excuses, "this isn't Will's fault, and he already feels bad enough with every thing that's been going on without you making him feel worse. Just, ease up on the guy okay? Will's not the enemy here."

Micheal let out a long hiss, his hands coming up to rub at his eyes under his glasses before he dropped them to his sides.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Arching his brow he gave a nod of his head towards the door, Micheal's teeth worrying his bottom lip at just what he was implying as his eyes followed the direction. "You don't have to do it now, but some time soon would be nice."

"Fair enough."

Not sure if there was anything else he could add to the conversation he took a step towards the door, a small part of his chest easing up when Micheal slowly followed behind him.

When they left the room, he was shocked at just how busy and loud it was in the main area. It seemed while he and Micheal had been trying to sort things out, everyone else was just working on trying to remain normal and upbeat. He spotted Rich, Jake and Will laughing in the kitchen, all working on making dinner while Christine and Jenna sat on the couch together, each with a glass of wine in hand as they chatted away about classes and Squip stuff.

As Micheal brushed passed him he wasn't shocked to see him avoiding the kitchen and heading straight for the girls. Until he and Rich managed to sort things out Jeremy had a feeling that they would just continue to ignore each other and stay out of the way.

Jeremy on the other hand made a beeline towards Will, quite pleased to see that for once no one was hanging off of him or demanding to much of his attention.

Sliding his arms around his waist he wasted no time in nuzzling up to Will, easily peering over his shoulder as he rested his chin on the curve of his neck and turned his attention to what he was chopping up.

"What are you making?"

"Broccoli steak." Will answered with no hesitation, leaning back slightly into Jeremy as he continued slicing up the nasty green vegetables.

Jeremy's nose twitched in disgust, not caring if it made him look like a child. "Gross. You sure do love your vegetables though hm?"

"Well I should think so." Will said with a light chuckle. "I am a vegan after all."

The news startled him, not so much from what it was but what it meant. He'd been watching Will cook and eat for weeks now, and not once had he ever noticed that Will never touched the meat that he made for them. But now that he was thinking about it that could have been why it took him so long to eat the toast Jeremy had made for him. It had butter on it. How many other things about Will did he miss just because he wasn't paying attention? That was definitely something that he was going to have to fix.

"Jeremy," Slowly, Will placed down the knife, turning just enough to place a hand against Jeremy's shoulder and push him back. "There is a matter I must discuss with you."

At the seldom look set over Will's features Jeremy found himself growing concerned. Had JD run into Will at school today? Had Will seen someone on the school property? Did he somehow know if the others had found them yet?

Even though each of the questions pushed at his mind for attention, he waved them off, wanting his full focus on whatever it was going to be that Will had to say.

"It is about your teacher, Heather Sawyer."

Well... that... that he had not been expecting. Just what did one of his professors have to do with anything?

At the sound of the name however both Jake and Rich stopped what they were doing, their attention turning to the two as Jeremy suddenly found himself becoming more and more concerned.

"We have reason to believe that she is the person that Jason Dean is concerned about. I believe that she is an old classmate of his, no doubt the woman that he fell in love with and chose as his host."

His host? But...

"Wouldn't he be like... I don't know, burnt out? I mean I haven't seen him anywhere around her and you said that he's just been here for a few days right? I mean wouldn't that...?"

"The first three generations of Squips weren't created to be so dependant on their hosts." Jake said, leaning against the counter as he spoke. "To them, having a host is more like an adrenaline shot than a life force. Our connections and reliance's were made later to make us more dependant on humans. I think they were hoping that it would keep us from trying to take over or from getting out of hand. It's why they tried to take out the older generation first when they started to eradicate us."

Hearing that word and associating it with his friends made him wince and his stomach drop. He couldn't even being to imagine just how frightened they all must have been, how terrifying it would be to wake up to hear others screaming all around them. How desperate they all must have been to get out.

"I'm thinking that we should have a talk with her." Rich muttered, "but these guys don't seem to think that it's a great idea."

"Are you kidding? If JD found out that we were talking to the one person he told us to stay away from, he would gut us all for sure." Jake grumbled, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "I think that we should just continue to observe her from afar."

"I think that watching her any further would prove to be pointless." Will pointed out with a small frown. "Other than the fact that she is Jason Dean's host, she is no use to us whatsoever. It would be better to keep her from getting any further mixed up in this situation."

"But what you guys don't seem to understand is that we could use her. JD would listen to her. Maybe we can get her to get him to distract the others or to make them completely call it off." Rich said, Jeremy apparently completely forgotten as all their focus turned to their argument.

"We all know that Jason would not listen to a word. Host or not he does not listen to orders, and trying to convince him to help me, or any of us out, would result in nothing." Will hissed, "Asking anything of her is completely out of the question."

"JD would sooner turn on us for even thinking of asking her to do something like that." Jake agreed. "It's just not a good idea Rich, but, if we were to continue to watch her-,"

"Which we are not." Will snapped, his sharp gaze shifting over to Jake.

"than we can figure out if maybe JD's got any other weakness. If we find out something like that than maybe we can convince him to come with us, to fight with us."

Obviously, from the reaction of the two others, this was the first time that, that idea had ever popped up. Rich's mouth was hanging wide open, Will's own eyes going wide as Jake licked his lips and tried to press forward.

"Look guys, I know that it doesn't sound like a good idea, but we're talking about going after the main group that's been hunting us down for years. We're going to want all the squip power we can get. And I don't think that any of us can disagree with his amount of strength."

"Have you completely lost your mind!"

Rich's outburst finally caught the attention of the others, Will simply shifting his stance, his eyes darting to the side as his hand came down to tap lightly against his leg. Jeremy frowned at the known tick, reaching out and grabbing a hold of Will's hand, giving it a light squeeze when bright baby blues darted up to met deep chocolate brown.

"We're talking about the same guy who kills people without a second thought. Who nearly destroyed an entire school just to make some sort of weird ass point. The same guy who tried to kill Will over and over again for years? And you just want to ask him to join us and help out? How the hell do you think that's going to work? 'Oh ya, hey JD, know that you hate basically all of humanity and us most of all, but I was wondering if ya'd be a real pal and help us take out the evil no good top dogs with us to help better the world. It would sure mean a gosh darn lot to us, thanks.' Oh ya, I see that going over so fucking well." Rich snarled, Will pulling his hand away from Jeremy's as he rejoined their little circle.

"But guys I really think..."

"Jacob," Jake snapped his mouth shut as Will addressed him, his lips pressed firmly together as Will let out a long sigh, "even if we did mange to somehow get him to fight with us, blackmailing him would be the last way to go."

"Ya," Rich scoffed, leaning his hip against the counter as he crossed his arms, "talk about poking a shark."

"Um," The soft voice from the other side of their tiny dinner table drew all of their attention towards the other three in their group, "what are you guys talking about?"

Jake gave a somewhat strained smile to his girlfriend as he moved over to her side. "We're just trying to figure out our next move." He assured her, Micheal standing stiffly at his side as he stole a glance over at Rich.

Rich pretended not to notice though, turning back to Will as he continued on.

"I still think that we should talk to her. Who knows, maybe JD told her something, maybe she knows something more than we do, but it couldn't hurt to see if there's anyway that she can help you with before you leave."

"It would be pointless Richard." Will sighed, bringing his hand up to rub at his eyes as he spoke. "And I fear that it might place her in more danger than it is worth. I am sorry, but none of us will be talking to her, and I ask that you do not as well."

Although Rich didn't appeared to pleased with the answer, he didn't argue over it anymore, allowing it to drop with a nod of his head. Will reached out and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, drawing Rich's attention back towards his face as he gave him a small smile. Jeremy could see the silver lining Rich's gaze as he gave a weak one of his own back, but no tears fell before he turned back to the counter and picked up his task where he had left off.

Seeing that the conversation was apparently put to rest for now, Jeremy turned back to Will, not liking the troubled look that was settled over his face as his eyes watched the rest of the group mumble among themselves.

"Was there something that you wanted to talk to me about that had to do with her?" When he asked, he made sure to keep his voice low, made sure that the others didn't hear him so that they couldn't all start back up again.

Will turned to him, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared up at Jeremy.

"I know that I have no right to ask this but I wanted to see if you would be able to stop attending her classes."

"Uh..."

"It is just that you do not share that class with anyone else and now that I know that she is someone special to Jason, and you know how we can get when we are protective of our hosts, and Jason is ten times worse than me and..."

"You're worried."

His statement was blunt, Will's face flaring up not even a moment after it had been uttered.

"Of course I am worried Jeremy. You have seen what he did to me. With humans he is a lot less lenient."

"I'm not trying to make fun of you for it or anything Will, I just think that it's, well, you know, sweet."

Will scowled up at him, his arms crossing over his chest tightly, trying to hide the blush over his face with the glare narrowing his brows.

"If you do not wish to take my advice than that is fine, but if anything does happen I want you to contact me as soon as possible so that I can help."

Jeremy couldn't help it. Even though he knew about the seriousness of the situation, even though he could understand just where Will's worry was coming from, he couldn't help but find his heart swelling in fondness, his lips pulling up into a dorky little smile.

Before his brain could catch up with the rest of him, he found himself leaning down and gently pressing a kiss to Will's soft lips.

Will went stiff under his touch, the room falling silent as he pulled back and grinned down at the stunned squip.

"Oh... Well... that's a development."

Rich's words went ignored by Jeremy as he smiled down at the deep flush over Will's cheeks, unable to help but find it absolutely adorable he gently placed his hands on the others face.

"I appreciate it Will, really. If you think it's for the best than I'll stop going okay? I wouldn't want you to worry."

Besides, he'd never really cared for her class anyways.

"Ohmygod!"

The high pitched squeal made them both start. Before Jeremy could move however Jenna came flying out of nowhere, side tackling Will with a hug and just about taking him out in the process.

"I knew it! I knew it! You two are just so cute together!"

Scowling openly at her Jeremy reached out and grabbed a hold of Will, yanking him out of her hold and growling at her when she turned to him.

"Hands off." She blinked at him, her mouth falling open slightly at the malice in his voice as he clung to Will.

But she couldn't just continue to hang off of him. She couldn't just keep invading his space like that. At least Jeremy had a reason for it. At least when Jeremy did it Will got energy. Will didn't like to be touched and clung to by people, he didn't like when they were all over him. He found it annoying and invasive. And Jenna had no right and no reason to be so up in his personal space. Besides, Jeremy was Will's host, something she definitely was not.

"Jeremy." Will's voice was strained, his name coming out in a sharp hiss as Jeremy frowned.

"Sorry Kitten I..."

"-KITTEN!?" The shit eating grin over Rich's face couldn't have been any bigger, the laughter that followed basically a howl as he threw his head back.

Even Jake looked like he was trying to muffle his laughter, placing a hand over his mouth and turning his head away while Christine beamed at his side. Micheal too had to suck his lips in, managing to find the situation funny even with everything going on. Jenna on the other hand smirked, crossing her arms over her chest with an arched brow as she leaned against the counter.

The glare that Jeremy received from over Will's shoulder was enough to make the flesh melt off his bones. Smartly, Jeremy didn't say another word, he just took his hands off Will and offed him a somewhat sheepish smile as he backed away a step.

Honestly he wasn't even sure just what he was thinking. It's not like him and Will really had any time to talk or figure out what this even was. Sure they admitted to liking each other, but with everything going on Jeremy hadn't thought to ask if that meant that they were dating, and he definitely hadn't asked just how they should act around the others. Although from the look on Will's face he could see that maybe it was something that Will hadn't been all the ready to allow them to know.

"Richard." Will said suddenly, drawing his best friend's attention towards him with little trouble. "It seems that Jeremy has volunteered himself to sleep on the couch tonight,"

"What! But Will I-!"

"Would you like to sleep in our room with me?"

"Sweet! Sleepover party!" Rich cheered, all but bouncing up to Will and throwing an arm around his shoulder. "We should invite Jake too!"

"Oh no guys it's okay." Jake chuckled, but when Christine placed an arm on his shoulder he turned down to face her.

"You should, when was the last time you guys got to hangout together?" She said, a soft smile on her face as she nodded towards them. "It'll be fun. You should do it."

"Aw." Jenna pouted, frowning at the group as her shoulders raised up to her ears. "What about me?"

"It could be a Squip party." Jake shrugged with a smile.

"There is still an air mattress in the room." Will added, "you could sleep on that if you would like."

"Well I bet no one's been sleeping on it for a long time." Jenna grinned wolfishly, Will's cheeks turning red as he glared at her.

"I love this plan." Rich grinned, suddenly pulling Will out of the kitchen. "Come on guys, if were going to do this we have to do it right. We need junk food, oh! And we also call dibs on the TV. We'll drag that into the room when we get back."

"But Richard I haven't finished with dinner and..."

"We can cook Will." Christine snickered as the Squips all followed behind the two with different levels of enthusiasm. "Don't worry about us."

Jeremy was still trying to figure out what had just happened when the door slammed shut, his mind having a hard time processing everything that had just gone on. Was there really going to be a Squip sleepover happening? In his room of all places? Man...

But maybe this was good. He had yet to hear any stories from any of the squips that involved them all just hanging out and having fun together. Everything that he did hear was about survival and safety. Besides, with the way that everything was going now, who would be able to say when they would be able to do this again, if at all.

A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts, his eyes snapping over to Micheal as his friend offered him a small smile.

"Welcome to the dog house." He joked, giving Jeremy a light pat on the back. "You guys can hangout with me in my room tonight. We could all play video games and what not."

Right, because Micheal had his own TV in his room too. And no doubt he didn't want to spend another night alone. Besides, when was the last time it had just been the three of them hanging out together?

With a smile over his face Jeremy gave a nod of his head. This just might as well be the last time that they were all going to be able to do this.

"I'm game." He said, turning to Christine who was already grinning. "How about you?"

"Of course." Christine agreed, before nodding her head towards the counter. "But I think maybe we should clean this up first."

Looking towards the broccoli and whatnot that they had been cutting up Jeremy couldn't help but smile fondly at the mess. Will had cook every meal for them since he'd arrived, it was actually kind of nice that he was getting the night off for once.

As a group they slowly started to clean everything up, Jeremy placing all of the food inside different bowls or bags and placing them in the fridge to be used for later while Christine cleaned off the counter and Micheal took care of the dishes.

"So," Micheal started as he dried off a short knife, arching his brow at Jeremy with a smirk over his face, "Kitten eh?"

Jeremy could feel his face flush, but he playfully shoved his friend as Christine snickered from his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: I hope you guys have had a good week! :D Just so you know I'll be posting the next chapter this coming Thursday, and just to be safe I have to warn you that it's not school safe or work safe, so, you know, read in private I guess. :) Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! :D


	38. Chapter 38

Jeremy couldn't sleep.

For the last two hours he'd tried and failed, and nothing that he did seemed to help lull his mind into the ever changing dream world that he so badly wished that he could visit.

Christine and Micheal didn't appear to have the same problem, both of them having dozed off hours ago, Micheal sprawled across the bed snoring loudly while Christine curled up in a tight little ball in the corner. Jeremy himself had thrown his attention to them whenever they shifted, his fingers mindlessly tapping against the controller in his hands even though the screen had yet to move from the starting display.

He sighed, long and silently as he carefully rolled himself off of the beanbag chair, trying to be as quiet as he possibly could as he got to his feet.

He knew why he couldn't sleep, it was weird not having Will with him after so long of falling to sleep listening to his breathing, of feeling his heartbeat. There was no way that he could slip into the world of dreams without his little squip in his arms. But Will was with the rest of the squips for tonight, and while Jeremy didn't hate the idea, he wished that he could be with him right now.

Still, even if he couldn't sleep right next to Will tonight, the least that he could do was just sleep on the couch. At least that way he would be closer to him.

Nodding his head along with his plan he stretched his arms up, listening to his back crack as he did so. Carefully tiptoeing his way through the minefield of candy wrappers and chip bags, Jeremy slowly cracked open the door.

And was met with the pleasant surprise of Will standing just outside.

They both started, their eyes going wide at the sight of each other. Neither one knowing what to say, Will's face quickly flushing as Jeremy just continued to stare down at him.

"I am sorry Jeremy. I did not mean to disturb your sleep." Will muttered quietly, no doubt not wanting to wake the other occupants in the room as Jeremy softly closed the door behind himself. "I-I will see you in the morning. Good night."

"Will."

He didn't let him get far, snatching his wrist when Will tried to slip away. Will seemed to freeze, his whole body going tense as he refused to look up at Jeremy, his cheeks burning from what little the other could see. Gently, Jeremy pulled him back, smiling softly at the way Will still refused to look up at him even when he was standing right before him. Keeping a hold of his wrist he brought his other hand up to cup at Will's cheek, tilting his head up until the bright baby blues that he loved so much were turned up to face him.

Jeremy smiled, and Will swallowed, his eyes darting down to Jeremy's lips before they forced themselves to meet his gaze. He couldn't help but chuckle at that, slowly backing Will up against the wall, glad that he wasn't the only one missing his other half.

When Will's back hit the solid surface he let out a small squeak, but Jeremy quickly soothed him, softly rubbing his thumb over his cheek, moving to his bottom lip as he tilted his head back more.

"You're okay." Jeremy cooed, gently placing a kiss to the top of Will's forehead. "I missed you too."

A desperate little noise that Jeremy had never heard from him before slipped passed Will lips. Not even seconds later he wrapped his fingers up in the fabric of Jeremy's shirt and yanked him down before the other could so much as blink. The action caught Jeremy off guard, his eyes going wide and a small squeak spilling passed his lips only to be swallowed up by Will.

They'd only ever really kissed twice, and one of those times Jeremy's didn't count, and the other time, well, it had been nothing like this.

It had been a quick press of lips, a chaste little peck to show that their feelings were mutual. This was, this was something else entirely.

It was desire and desperation and heat. It awoke something primal and ravenous inside of Jeremy. It sent a wave of pleasure swirling in the pit of his stomach. It made every part of contact that he had with Will burn as if they were both made out of liquid fire.

And Jeremy loved it.

Getting over his shock he finally retaliated, his hand sliding from Will's face to fist in the hair at the back of his head, forcing it back more as Will gave out a small whine. Moving his other hand down he cupped the back of Will's thigh, giving him enough direction for Will to move up, wrapping his legs around Jeremy's waist, bringing them that much closer together.

It had only been a few days since they'd last been able to do this, but it might as well have been an eternity. The way that they clung to each other made it seem as if it might be the last time that they would ever do so again. Just that thought alone was enough to make Jeremy press into him harder, to make sure that the body in his arms was real and alive. Will's moan at the sudden pressure made Jeremy nip sharply at his bottom lip, soothing the mark not even a second later with the tip of his tongue.

Their kiss was more chaotic than Jeremy would have thought it ever would have been. More teeth and tongue and passion than anything else, and Will seemed to fumble along a little bit, but he couldn't help but purr at the idea of spending hours helping the squip to improve his technique.

When he rolled his hips up, a small little squeak escaped passed the others lips, and a firm pressure against Jeremy's stomach made him reluctantly pull back so that he could look down and see the problem that he had caused for the other. Unable to be stared at in his current state however Will pressed his forehead against Jeremy's neck, blocking his view while his panting breath ticking against Jeremy's bare collarbone, the warmth fogging his mind enough to nearly make him forget what he was trying to do.

But... They really needed to get out of the hallway.

If anyone of their friends walked out of any of the rooms they would have full view of just what state the two of them were in, and Jeremy had a feeling that Will would kill him if he ever allowed that to happen.

"B-bathroom?"

It wasn't the best place that he could think of, but it was one of the only places other than the rooms that had a lock on it. And the best part- it was unoccupied.

Will gave a nod of his head, and that was all Jeremy needed in order to move back and let him down. He carefully caught the other by the shoulders when Will stumbled slightly, his head no doubt spinning just as much as Jeremy's. Without further ado he pulled Will towards the bathroom, overjoyed with the fact the it was basically just right across from Micheal's room and only a few feet down. He didn't think he'd be able to wait much more with such a precious gem just waiting to be devoured.

Yanking his squip into the room, he made quick work of shutting and locking the door before he turned on the other male.

He took a long moment, appreciating the flushed and dishevelled look that he'd managed to work the guy up into in just a few short minutes as Will bit down on his bottom lip, his eyes unable or unwilling to meet with Jeremy's.

"Hey," His voice was soft as he took a slow step forward. Slipping a hand under Will's chin he tilted his head up until their eyes were locked once more, offering an understanding smile when Will pressed his lips into a thin line. "We don't have to do anything. Say the word and we can just hangout on the couch watching movies until morning."

"Richard stole the TV." Will muttered, "It's in our room remember?"

"Ah," Right. Actually he'd completely forgotten about that- but, "Well I make a pretty killer shadow puppet play." He bragged, only half joking. "Just ask the rest of the guys, they loved my version of Harry Potter and the Shadow Stone."

Will laughed, and Jeremy would swear upon everything on earth that it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

A moment later and Will's head tilted up, catching Jeremy's lips in a lingering kiss before he pulled back.

"That is a sweet offer Jeremy, but I think I have some better ideas."

The smirk that settled over Will's lips made his heart jump in his chest, closing the distance between the two of them as he rested his hands on Will's hips.

"Interested in saying any of them out loud?" Any of the confidence that had been set over Will's features shattered at the purr in Jeremy's voice, only making him chuckle as he wondered just what it could have been that Will was thinking. "Hm, maybe later than."

Without giving Will a word of warning he hoisted him up, lifting him up on the bathroom counter and smoothly sliding into the space between his legs, his hands running up Will's thighs slowly.

"Would you like to hear what I'm thinking?" His voice was a low rumble, the tip of his nose dragging up Will's throat and towards his ear, his lips catching the soft lobe and nipping down sharply with his teeth. The body in his arms jerked, hands coming up to wrap around his chest and cling at his back as he gave the flesh between his teeth a little tug.

For a moment he caught his own reflection in the mirror, and he couldn't help but wonder just how hot it would be if he could get Will to face it to and watch as Jeremy made a wreak out of him. But that might be pushing the poor guy a little to fast a little to soon.

It was a tempting idea for later though. Definitely something they were going to have to try at some point.

When Will still remained quiet, Jeremy tightened his hold on his thighs, his one hand coming down to press the heel of his palm against heat between Will's legs.

"I need an answer William."

"N-n-yes- I-I don't..." Will's words dissolved, his eyes screwing shut tight as his jaw locked. His whole body was tense, his back arched just the slightest to press himself into Jeremy's hand but not daring to go any further.

It was cruel, he knew how sensitive Will was, what hearing his full name leaving Jeremy's lips did to him. But Jeremy never much liked playing nice when it came to these activities. He just loved to see how far he could push, how long he could keep the other tilting on the edge of pleasure before making him scream. Perhaps that did make him cruel, but he knew that Will loved it.

"Come on William, I know you can do better than that." He chuckled, circling his fingers with feather light touches around the area as his other hand slipped under the fabric of Will's shirt to run along his side, the flesh smooth and warm under his touch. "It's a simple yes or no answer."

"J-Jeremy..."

"That's not what I want to hear Kitten." He tutted softly, pulling back and moving his hand from between Will's legs to cup his chin. "But it's okay. That's something we can work on later."

Will whined, just barely managing to crack his eyes open to peer at Jeremy. Chuckling softly at his distress he moved in, capturing the boy's lips with his own.

"Just say the word and I'll stop."

Moving his hands down he slipped his fingers under the waistband of Will's sweats, hesitating just long enough to give him time to speak if he wanted. When no words were spoken between them, he slid the soft fabric down, Will helping him by rising his hips up when he need to and kicking them off when they got low enough.

The blush on Will's face was fierce, but the determination in his gaze held strong, his lips parted slightly in a pant as Jeremy moved his attention towards his shirt. With every new inch of skin that was exposed, he placed feather light kisses, Will arching beautifully into his touch. He raised the shirt over his head, dropping it to the floor carelessly as he pulled back just enough to be able to look at the breathtaking sight before him.

It wasn't really the first time the he'd managed to get Will completely naked, it had happened twice before at least, but it had always been in the dark, he'd never been able to see just what Will really looked like.

While a part of him purred at the wondrous sight of the one before him, another part of him snarled at the scars, both fade and not, of all shapes and sizes and lengths, littered across Will's body. He was to young. To young and to small to have the marks that he did. And Jeremy hated the fact that he knew what most of them must have been from. Hated the fact that nearly every single one of them Will had suffered through alone.

"Jeremy?"

The sound of his name broke him out of his thoughts, his eyes lifting from the scars to the beautiful baby blues that he could never tire of looking at. But Will was starting to look unsure now, starting to squirm in place, his hands tightening around the edge of the counter as if he didn't know if the sight of his body under such harsh lights disturbed Jeremy.

Jeremy smiled softly, hoping to set his mind at ease as he arched a brow.

"What? Am I wearing to much clothing for you?"

His light humour seemed to do the trick, pulling the corners of Will's lips up as he wrapped his legs around the others waist and pulled him in.

"Wanna help me get them off?" He snickered against Will's lips, trailing the tips of his fingers up the curve of Will's back.

The touch made Will curse, and Jeremy couldn't help chuckle as he quickly discarded his own shirt without help. Moving back in after the articular was removed, he moaned at the feeling of Will's warm skin pressed against his own. With one hand he tilted Will's head back just enough to capture his lips once more, the other hand moving down to help free him from the confines of his jeans, a sigh escaping passed his lips as the pressure was released. Shifting just the slightest bit closer he brought his hand down to Will's hips, pulling him forward until their hips met.

Will let out a sharp squeak, the sound thankfully being swallowed by Jeremy as he wrapped his hand around them both.

"Fuck." Will pulled back with a hiss, his nails digging into the flesh of Jeremy's back almost enough to be painful. Jeremy winced slightly, but his toes curled at the look across the others face.

"You're doing good Kitten." He cooed, sucking in his own breath of air as he started up a slow rhythm. "You're doing so good for me."

Will's eyes were squeezed shut, his lips pressed tightly together, his body ridged. He was shaking with the amount of energy that it took for him not to move, to not rise his hips up, to not follow the movement, to not let a word or sound escape pass his lips. Jeremy was impressed.

Chuckling once more against his lips he tilted his head just the slightest amount, deepening the kiss and pulling a small moan from the other.

That one sound seemed to be the crack in the dam, Will yanking back to pant and whine loudly as he dropped his head on Jeremy's shoulder.

Slipping his hand into his hair, his fingers tightly held him in place, his lips pressing against the curve of Will's neck before his teeth nipped at the skin. With a twist of his wrist Jeremy managed to pull a wave of new sounds from Will's throat, giving a small hiss of his own when sharp teeth buried themselves into his shoulder in an attempt to quiet the noise.

His stomach swooped, his movements picking up speed. The idea of knowing that the bite would leave a mark, of Will leaving a visible claim on him, stroked at his core, the dominating part of his mind purring at the idea of returning the favour.

Rolling his hips more aggressively against Will's, Jeremy gave a low growl marking up any of the skin in his path. There would be no way that Will would be able to hide this, not without wearing a turtle neck and some intense cover up. The thought of the looks that would be on their friends face's tomorrow was enough to make him smirk.

"You're mine William." He hissed, tightening his hold. "All mine."

With a desperate cry that Jeremy had never had the privilege of hearing from him before, Will arched hard against him, his head tossing back, almost smacking against the mirror if not for Jeremy's hand cushioning the impact. Jeremy followed closely after him, muffling his own cry against Will's shoulder as he continued to bring them down from their high.

When he finally managed to get his wits back about him, Jeremy slowly curled Will's head back, tilting him more towards his chest and soothingly running his fingers over the others shaking form. He knew now that Will would be... rebooting?- for a moment or two, and for a second he couldn't stop his mind from wondering just what the hell Micheal thought was going on with Rich when they did this the first few times.

Pushing the thought of his best friends sex life out of his mind, Jeremy carefully rested Will against the mirror, wasting no time in fishing out a face cloth and dampening it with warm water. He set about his task of cleaning Will up gently, taking his time as he placed feather light kisses all over every patch of skin he could, taking extra care in the deeper bites and darker marks.

By the time he was nearly finished, Will shifted, giving out a small whine as Jeremy softly rubbed at his upper thigh to help sooth him.

"Sorry." He said, his voice quiet and sheepish as he spoke. "You might be just a little sore."

It took Will a few blinks, but he finally seemed to manage to focus on Jeremy, winching slightly when he moved.

"I do not understand how."

"Well, this isn't like your normal workout sessions Will." Jeremy joked, finishing up his work as he tossed the cloth behind the door. "You okay to get on your feet?"

"Of course." Will scoffed, Jeremy watching him carefully as he took a step back, "I am not-."

However the second the Will's feet touched the cool flooring, his legs gave out. With an undignified yelp he stumbled, Jeremy already anticipating the stumble and catching him easily. Will honestly look flabbergasted at the betray of his body, he looked absolutely horrified that it had failed at something so simple. Jeremy just snickered at him, holding him in close until he was sure that Will was alright to stand on his own. Only than did he slowly let him go, still smiling at the scowl on the others lips as he scooped up their clothing.

"It's okay Will. That's normal." He assured, handing over the light sweats and long sleeve shirt to his squip.

Just seeming to remember his nakedness, Will quickly snatched up the items, quickly pulling them over to cover himself once more, his cheeks a burning bright red as Jeremy continued to snicker at his adorableness while he slipped on his own clothes.

Once they were both presentable Jeremy paused with his hand on the doorknob. Before he could give himself time for second guessing he turned, facing Will so quickly that the other just about ran into him.

"So, um, I-I know that you were, um, well actually I don't know how you felt, or really I guess- feel?- about the whole... you know, everyone knowing thing." He muttered, his eyes darting every where but at Will as his one hand waved around the air, the other tightening around the handle of the door. "But um, I just, you know, sorry about the- well the kitten thing and the kiss and basically outing you-us?- to the rest of the group. I mean I know that I said that I liked you and that you said that you like me but I didn't ask how you felt about everyone else knowing and that's not cool and I didn't ask if you were even interested in dating and I just wanted to know, and don't feel obligated to have to say yes or anything, um, I mean I'm totally fine with doing- whatever it is you want to do, but uh, if y-you'd like I just thought that maybe..."

"Get to the point Jeremy." Will interrupted, his arms crossed over his chest and his hip resting against the counter.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go out with me?" The words left his mouth so fast that even Jeremy almost couldn't make out what they were.

He could feel the heat creeping up his neck and spilling over his cheeks, his lips were pressed together so tightly that they turned white, his heart pounding in his chest so loudly that he could almost swear he could hear it chanting around them.

The silence stretched on so long between them that his stomach sank. The stunned look over Will's face enough to make him choke as he gave a short nod of his head, turning his head away from the other as he clutched his free hand into a tight fist if only to hide the shaking.

"Ya, um, i-it was stupid. Forget I said anything."

He pushed to far. Will was still new to this whole thing. He was just getting use to being around people and finding someone he liked. What was Jeremy thinking trying to ask him out and...

A gentle touch of soft lips against his cheek made him jump violently, all but throwing himself into the wall as he whipped his head around to stared wide eyed at the smirk on Will's face.

"You really should give people more time to reply Jeremy." Will tasked, reaching out and intertwining their fingers together as he tugged Jeremy away from the wall. "Especially when they have to decode the question to give you their answer."

His heart swelled, a stupidly large grin coming to his face as he threw his free arms around Will, not wanting to pull their hands away. Planting a large kiss to Will's forehead Jeremy couldn't help the giddy little snicker that spilled passed his lips as he nuzzled his nose against Will's cheek.

"You have no idea how happy you've just made me."

It was Will's turn to go bright red, his eyes darting away quickly from Jeremy's as he cleared his throat.

"Was there not a shadow puppet show that you wanted to show me?"

Chuckling at Will's embarrassment Jeremy quickly captured his lips once more, both of them allowing it to linger before reluctantly pulling away.

"Be prepared to be amazed."

Will only rolled his eyes at him, the small twitch of his lips betraying his amusement as Jeremy opened the door and lead them to the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Well, I hope that you guys liked it. :) Honestly I'm still working on how to write those kinds of scenes so I hope it was good enough for you all! :D


	39. Chapter 39

Jeremy woke up slowly.

It was the first time in a long time that he didn't feel that he needed to shoot up. The first time in a long time that he didn't feel that he had to be on high alert, ready for Will to flip the bed, or for some aggressive squips to burst through the door and wipe them all out. His mind just allowed itself to ease back into wakefulness, one little bit at a time.

Admittedly he was still a little bit sore, but he supposed it didn't matter how many blankets they had stolen from Christine and Jake's room, they were still sleeping on the floor. He didn't mind though, the thought of just how sore his body would have felt if they had attempted to sleep on the couch was enough to make him grateful for the slight tightness in his back.

The warm body draped over him however didn't give him much of an incentive to move. Even as he became more and more awake as the seconds ticked by, he didn't want to be pulled away from the little bundle in his arms for anything. Being awake did have it's perks however, giving him time to admire the smaller male on top of him as his eyes lazily cracked open.

Seeing the others' sleeping face pulled a tired smile to his lips, his heart warming at the peacefulness settled over Will's features as his body shifted with smooth, deep breaths. He looked so sweet, so... at peace, it was a look that Jeremy never really saw on him when he was awake.

Gently he stroked his fingers through the others hair, shifting the dark locks as he scraped his nails softly over his scalp. Will gave out a small whine, snuggling closer to him as Jeremy placed a dry kiss to the top of his forehead.

Ya, he didn't mind waking up like this for the rest of his life. This... this was nice.

"Wow? Really? Can't even go one night hm?"

He blinked at the sudden voice, and the click that followed quickly after that. Lifting his head up from the pillow he was resting on he frowned at Jenna. She was leaning over the back of the couch, her phone in one hand and her chin resting in the other. Her brow was arched as she looked down at Jeremy his frown only growing larger the longer she stared.

"You're just wrapped around each others fingers aren't you?"

"Good morning Jenna." He couldn't help the less than enthusiastic tone in his voice as he rested his head back down, his hand moving from Will's head to run soothingly up and down his arm.

"Hm, mornin'."

Not having anything else to say to her he turned his attention back to Will, a small smile pulling at the side of his lips, unable to help but press yet another kiss to his forehead.

"I get the feeling that you don't like me much."

He let out a long sigh, shifting just enough so that he could stare at her once more.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. They just stared. Watching each other as if they were trying to pick apart just what the other was thinking. Briefly Jeremy could feel a small shiver work up his spine at the idea that maybe she could. After all she could send messages to the other squips, was she able to look into the minds of their hosts? Will had said that they couldn't trade thoughts back and forth like he and Will could but...

"I don't hate you." He muttered.

"That's not what I said."

He fell silent at her response.

"I said that you don't like me much." As she spoke, she moved around the couch, being careful to step over their feet before she dropped herself onto it. "Now why is that?"

Jeremy found his lips pressing together, his brows narrowing over his eyes without his permission. He couldn't tell her why. It was just so petty and stupid. There really was no reason for him not to like Jenna. She was fun and funny and seemed to be a good enough person. It was just that... well... He didn't like the way that she was around Will.

He didn't like that she hung off of him and was constantly in his personal space. Didn't like the way that she stole Will's attention from him whenever she was around. Didn't like the overly familiar way that she was with Will. He...

Oh.

Oh shit.

This was how Will felt. This is how he felt every single time that Brooke was around.

And it sucked.

Man, he was going to have to apologize to Will for that later.

Jenna was surprisingly patient, waiting for him without saying a word as he sorted through his thoughts. He looked back at her, not sure just when he had looked away in the first place, his hand reflexively tightening over Will.

Her eyes caught the movement, he was starting to think that she didn't miss much of anything, and a small light lit up in her gaze.

"Aw, you're jealous."

"No."

"Yes." Her grin grew wider, the look over her face turning absolutely predatory as she leaned down. "You're super jealous. But don't worry. Me and Will are just friends."

"I know that."

"I know. But it's better to hear it isn't is?"

He snapped his mouth shut. She wasn't wrong about that. It was better to hear. Even though he knew that there was no way that they were interested in each other like that, a large weight still lifted off his chest at hearing it out loud.

Her smile tempered down, settling into something softer, kinder, her phone dangling from the tips of her fingers as her gaze shifted to the sleeping Squip on his chest.

"You know, I did use to have a huge crush on Will. I think almost everyone did at some point." She shrugged, a breezy laugh working up from her chest before she continued. "Kind of like a celebrity crush or something you know? The person everyone wanted but just seem way to unattainable. To far out of reach to even bother for." She shrugged again, leaning down to gently brush some of his dark hair from his eyes. "It also didn't help that he was as intimidating as hell. Super hot yes, had the bad boy persona on point, kinda like his dad really, but, he was just far to detached from anyone other than Rich, there was no point in even trying."

Jeremy wasn't sure just what she wanted him to say to her little confession. So he didn't say a word.

"When I saw you for the first time and noticed that you were his host, gotta admit I was a little jealous." Her lips pinched up along with her words, her gaze moving back to Jeremy as she pressed forward. "But I know when I'm beat, and I've gotta say, you seem to be really good for him."

That threw him off a little bit.

He wasn't sure just where he was expecting her to go with this, or why she would bother telling him in the first place, but... It felt weird. Getting the approval from someone he didn't really know, but in the same breath it felt some what... humbling in a strange sort of way.

He was sure that there had been a number of people that Will could have attached himself to. No doubt he had met much better matches along his journey, people that could have helped Will out far better than Jeremy would ever be able to. Will hadn't even wanted Jeremy as his host. At least, not willingly. His choice had been made out of desperation as a last attempt to stay alive. Jeremy hadn't even been the one he tried to bond with first. He'd tried to bond with Micheal. The only reason it hadn't worked was because of Rich but...

It was... it was some thing close to a relief to hear from someone that maybe their whole situation hadn't been so random. Jenna seemed to think that Jeremy was good for Will, and he knew that despite everything, Will was good for him too. It gave him hope. Made him wonder that if maybe they had always been meant to find each other and that everything was as it should be.

Finally he found himself able to relax, no longer able to see her as much of a threat as he first had, giving her a small smile in return as she snapped another picture.

"Thanks Jenna."

She shot him a quick smirk, hopping to her feet and stepping back over them.

"Don't think anything of it. Just know that if you hurt him, there is a long line of squips who will make sure you suffer for it."

The threat made him tense. The little smile over her face doing little to set his mind at ease as she turned her back on him and moved towards the kitchen.

He really couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he had a strong feeling that there was nothing but honest truth in her words. Rich would tear him apart if the thought so much as crossed his mind. And Rich was only one. Jake would no doubt want a turn and so would Jenna and then there was also the other ones that Will had helped save before... ya, there was no way that Jeremy wanted to go against that.

"Consider me warned." He muttered.

The words had barely passed by his lips before Will shot up, on his feet so fast that Jeremy didn't even have time to blink. Will's head snapped around this way and that, his fingers curling inwards as he snarled at the open air.

Jenna froze in the kitchen, not daring to attract his attention to her in his half awake state as Jeremy ever so slowly sat up.

"Um, Will?"

It took a moment, Will's attention scanning the area once more before dropping back to Jeremy, his brows pulling together as he looked him over.

"Are you okay?"

"I..." Will stood, swaying on his feet for a second as the motion finally caught up with him. Jeremy quickly snapped out his hand, catching Will's wrist and helping to steady him as the dizziness hit him. Slowly he lowered him back down, Will now kneeling before him as he blink rapidly for a few seconds. "I," he pressed again, giving a small shake of his head to help clear it a little more, "you, you said something. About a warning?"

"Oh." Well, Jeremy supposed that he should be thankful that Will had only heard that part of the conversation. "Sorry, I was just talking to Jenna." Tossing a careless hand over his shoulder to wave towards the girl, Jenna must have waved at Will because he waved back before moving his hands to rub at his eyes.

"I apologize than." He yawned, dropping his hands to rest on his thighs as he blinked around the house one more time. "I thought that perhaps Jason had managed to get in and was threatening you."

Well, he hadn't thought of that but, he guessed that it made sense.

"I'm okay Will." Jeremy said, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips as he ran his hands soothingly up and down Will's arms. "That's sweet of you though."

Will gave out a grumpy sounding noise, his head falling to Jeremy's chest as he let out a long sigh. Jeremy only chuckled, moving his hands to run up and down his back as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.

He'd never really thought of it before but Will really wasn't much of a morning person. Sure he was always getting up early and always seemed awake when everyone else saw him, but Jeremy knew that he spent at least half an hour before he got anyone else up just trying to wake himself up. Knew that he would never allow himself to appear in this state in front of others if he could help it. But Jeremy had kept him up late last night, and he couldn't blame the guy for being exhausted with how draining the last few days had been. Besides, he wasn't going to complain, sleepy Will was flipping adorable.

"Ugh. Seriously? Isn't it a little to early for a fluff fest?"

Jenna muttering caught their attention, but Jeremy wasn't expecting Will to flip her off with a hiss, his head not moving from where it rested. Jenna obviously wasn't expecting it either, her eyes blowing wide and her mouth dropping open before she burst out into laughter.

"What's so funny first thing in the morning?" Rich groaned, using the door frame to hold himself up as he rubbed at his face with his free hand.

Upon spotting Will and Jeremy, Rich paused. Jeremy was ready for some stupid little joke or some nasty comment or some teasing remark that would leave him red in the face. But all Rich did was smile. It wasn't mocking, or cruel, or smug. It was the softest little thing he'd ever seen, a look that he never would have associated with Rich in all of his years of knowing him.

"Sleep well?" Even his question sounded genuine, the smile never once dropping from his face as Will finally lifted his head from Jeremy's chest so that he could look over his shoulder at his best friend.

"Best I have ever slept."

Jeremy definitely hadn't been expecting those words to come out of Will's mouth, or the sudden fluttering in his stomach from their utterance. His mouth went dry, his heart hammering hard in his chest as he tried to swallow passed his dry throat.

How on earth could Will be so cute?

"I'm glad to hear it." Rich grinned, walking by them, ruffling Will's hair as he did so.

Jeremy sucked in his lips, trying hard to lock the little squeal away at the sight of Will's now wild hair and the adorably grumpy little slow swat he that completely missed Rich's hand with. He was going to have to wake up before Will more often. He loved it.

Wrapping Will up in his arms again he pulled him against his chest, earning a small 'omph' as he did so.

"Jeremy let go."

"But you're so cute." He grinned, tightening his hold. "I don't want to let you go."

"Jeremy..."

"Okay fine." Jeremy sighed, allowing his arms to drop from the other.

He only managed to pout for a moment, but his smile fought it's way back to his lips as Will smiled back at him, a little laugh passing by his lips.

"Come on, let us get up."

Will held out his hands, Jeremy staring at them for a moment before he grabbed a hold of them. Once they were both on their feet, Jeremy held onto his hand, leading Will into the kitchen with the others as Jake walked out of their room.

"Man, I woke up and everyone was gone." Everyone chuckled at his words as he took a seat at their tiny kitchen table, giving a fake pout to the rest of the group as his shoulders hunched up. "Way to make me feel loved guys."

"In our defence Jake, you sleep like the dead." Rich said, pulling out a bowl from the cupboard.

"Ya, and technically, Will ditched first. You want to be mad at someone, be mad at him." Jenna said, her shit eating grin back in full force as she brought a mug to her lips. "Him and Jeremy just couldn't keep away from each other last night it seems."

"Bite me Jennifer." Will sneered, flashing his teeth at her as she laughed again, just about choking on her drink this time.

"I was wondering what that bruises on the side of your necks were from." Rich said, squinting at the both of them before a smirk of his own overcame his features. "So you've both got a thing for marking hm? Didn't know you had that kink Will."

Apparently Will didn't have anything to say to that accusation, his face flaming bright red as Jeremy ducked his head, pretending to cough into his fist as if that would help to hide his own burning face.

"Aw, leave the poor guy alone." Jake grinned, turning to Will as he leaned back in his chair. "Jenna could probably help you hide those. She probably knows a thing or two about hiding lovebites."

Without any warning Jenna pointed her finger towards Jake and a strong zap of bright blue light shot out and slammed into him. He yelped, not having any time to dodge the hit, his body jumping about a foot in the air before he crashed back on his chair, toppling it over as Rich burst out into laughter.

Jeremy had to slap his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing himself as Jenna turned back to face Will with a deceivingly sweet smile.

"Jake's right, if you'd like I could show you how to hide them."

"No thank you." Will's response caught Jeremy's attention, any humour from the last few seconds vanishing as all of his attention was drawn to the one at his side. "I do not mind people seeing them."

A noise he didn't even know that he could make squeaked out from the back of his throat, his face lighting up an even more impressive shade of pink as Will turned to face him with an arched brow.

"Are you alright Jeremy?"

He felt like he was choking, unable to get any words to fly passed his lips, so instead he just nodded his head, ignoring the smirk that Jenna and Rich shared behind Will's back. Although Will didn't look like he believed him to strongly, he did turn his attention back to the others, gently pulling his hand away from Jeremy's as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jeremy's gaze shifted to his now empty hand, his fingers curling inwards, wrapping around nothing but air as the slight breeze in the house nipped at his fingers and the inside of his palm. He had no idea just how much colder it was in here when he wasn't holding onto Will.

"I think that now is a good time to talk." Will said, the seriousness of his tone drawing everyone's attention to him, sober looks settling over their faces. "About just when we plan to leave and where we should go when we do."

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Jake asked, settling his elbows on the table as he tipped his head towards Micheal's room. "Wouldn't it be best for us to wait for them to get up too?"

"Why?" Rich muttered, hoping up on the counter with a roll of his eyes. "Micheal's being a pussy so he's not going,"

"Richard..."

"And you're going to tell Christine everything the moment she wakes up anyways so why bother waiting?" Rich pressed forward, ignoring Will for once as he kept his gaze on Jake. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I want you guys to stay for as long as possible. But we know how much ground those guys can cover when they want to. If JD's telling the truth than every second that you spend here is doing nothing other than lowering your chances to get out."

"Not that I want to bring anymore doom and gloom to this party but Rich is right." Jenna sighed, pocketing her phone before resting her hands on the counter tops. "They're getting closer as we speak. Only about a few days away by now actually, a week at most."

"Did you not think to mention this information sooner?" Will's tone was sharp, but controlled. His gaze narrowing slightly as Jeremy watched him carefully from the side of his vision.

Jenna still flinched at his words, as if they had been yelled in her ears, her eyes not able to meet Will's gaze anymore and seeming to find something on the wall far more interesting to look at.

"I-I was going to mention it, I swear, but... it just didn't seem like a good time." She muttered, brushing her hair away from her face, her tongue darting out to lick at her dry lips. "I mean, when was the last time we all just got to hangout? I-I didn't want to ruin that. Not if it, not if it was going to be..."

Her words trailed off, but even so Jeremy could still put together just what they were going to be.

'...our last.'

She knew that this could very well be a suicide mission. She knew that there might be some chance that she wouldn't be walking away from this if she chose to go. But she was still going to go anyways. They all were, and Jeremy didn't know if he would ever be able to thank them enough for it.

Will seemed to pick up on her unspoken words as well, his whole demeanor easing up as he nodded to her in understanding.

"That is fair." Will said, Jenna's shoulders dropping as he gaze slowly lifted up to meet with Will's. "I supposed that it would have put a bit of a heavy air on last nights festivity if you had said something. However that only solidifies my point. We have to move, and soon."

"Well all we really have to do is pack a bag right?" Jake said, "everything else is fine?"

"There is a few more matters that I would like to discuss." Will corrected, turning to face Jake as he spoke. "For instance, I need to know if everyone would like to continue their schooling uninterrupted once they leave. I will have to find and enroll them all in online classes. There is also the matter of finding out where we should go from here, and finding their actual location is going to be another project all on its own. Not to mention transportation and lodging, there are many things that we need to go over and figure out and the sooner the better."

"Wait," Jeremy didn't mean to interrupt, but before he could take it back, eyes as blue as the deepest sapphires snapped towards him. He felt a little put on the spot, wishing he could swallow his tongue as the rest of the group turned to him as well. "Uh, never mind. Sorry."

But Will didn't appear to want any of his sudden shyness, reaching out and grabbing a hold of his hand gently, drawing Jeremy's gaze up to meet with his own.

"What is it Jeremy?"

He didn't want to seem like he was second guessing, but... When it had just been him and Will talking, even when they'd talk to their friends it didn't... he just, it didn't really feel real. Now hearing him talk about it with the others, about the next steps that they were going to have to take, about everything that they were leaving behind... It was finally hitting him.

But he couldn't say that. Couldn't voice it. He wasn't going to crumble. Not right now. Not when Will needed him.

So instead he thought of something else, going back over the conversation until he could pick out something to ask about.

"Uh, well, it's just that... I thought you said that Jenna could find anyone." He muttered, tightening his hold around Will's hand, if only to remind himself that he was still here, that he was okay. "How do we not know where the main group of them are?"

"Aw! JerryBerry!" Jenna cooed, pushing herself away from the counter and throwing her arms around his shoulders. "You're so adorably naive! It's actually rather sweet." She cooed, only to have Will warn her away with nothing more than a sharp glare and a small growl. She backed off, holding her hands up in the air in surrender, a smile on her face as Will fitted himself snugly against Jeremy's side. "You see, Jerjer, they know what I can do. So they can take measures against it." She explained. "I don't really know what it is that they've done, but I can't find them wherever they are, not unless they leave."

Oh, well, he supposed that kind of made sense. It was sort of like how Magneto protected his mind against Professor X. There were ways to deflect everything as long as one knew what they were up against.

"Is that all you wanted to ask Jeremy?" Will questioned, glancing up at him quickly as Jeremy gave a small nod of his head, forcing a smile to his lips.

"Ya, that- that was it."

Will didn't seem to believe him, but he kept quiet anyways, only watching Jeremy for a few long moments before he turned back to the rest of the group.

"We should leave before this week is up, Tomorrow at the latest would be preferable. We have no time to waste."

God.

Tomorrow.

This was all happening a lot quicker than he'd thought it would. The air just about seemed to be knocked out of his lungs, his mind racing as he tightened his hold on Will.

He was going to have to say goodbye to some of his classmates, to his teachers, to Brooke. But, just how was he supposed to do that? What was he really going to tell them? Did he actually have to say anything at all? Would anyone even notice if he just disappeared off the face of the earth? Brooke would be ups...

"Oh shit."

He didn't even resize that he'd zoned out of the conversation or that it had gone on without him as he turned his attention to Will, his face dropping as he looked down at the other with a small frown.

"I told Brooke that we would still be having our karaoke night. She's expecting us all to be there."

Will looked shocked, his mouth slipping open but words failing him as he reminded silent, sealing his lips shut again when nothing useful spilled out.

"You have blood thirsty supercomputers after you and you're worried about blowing off one of your friends for a karaoke night?" Jenna asked, arching a brow as she spoke.

"I promised her." Jeremy said, shifting his gaze towards Jenna's. "I know that it's stupid and it's the least of your- our- problems but... I just, I-I would feel terrible if I just left without saying anything or without going through with this."

"Jeremy..."

"You said we should leave tomorrow right?" Quickly he turned back on Will, his eyes wide and pleading as he stared down at his boyfriend. "What if we could all go tonight?" He asked, the tight look on Will's face not really the hopeful sign he was looking for. "I could let them know that the time has changed and that we have to do it tonight and than we can go. We'll still have lots of time to get ready if we start now, and than we can still leave first thing tomorrow."

"Jeremy..."

"Please?" He knew that he was begging, that he was putting them in an awkward spot but... He couldn't do it. He couldn't just leave without at least doing the one thing that Brooke had been dying to do for years. He couldn't just abandon her like that, he would just feel to awful. "Please Will?"

The intensity of his big brown eyes seemed to do the trick, Will letting out a long suffering sigh as he gave a hard roll of his eyes before he turned to the others.

"Get the others up. We've got a lot of matters to discuss before we go out tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Will is such a pushover when it comes to Jeremy! XD I hope that everyone had a great week! :D


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Don't hate Rich for this! DX He's going through a lot right now! DX Sorry!

"I am sorry to wake you two up at this hour, but I am afraid that we have some matters that we all need to discuss."

"Great." Micheal muttered, rubbing his sleeve against his face as if that would help him wake up. "More good news from the 'bad omen' first thing in the morning."

"Watch it Micheal." Rich snapped, his growl drawing the others attention to his ex, Micheal's lips pressing into a thin line in return.

Although Jeremy wasn't to happy about Micheal attacking Will either, he still drew his best friend's attention towards himself, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the counter.

"Play nice Micheal. Will's not the enemy here, remember?"

Micheal just gave a large roll of his eyes, moving over to the table and greeting Jenna and Jake as he sunk down into his seat. When Jeremy stole a glance in Will's direction he wasn't to shocked to see that the guy wasn't all that phased by Micheal's reaction towards him. No doubt it wasn't the worst relationship he'd had with another person. Micheal was just upset that his friends were being placed in danger and was taking it out on Will. But Will had people who tried to kill him on a daily bases for nothing more than the power that he held. He highly doubted that Will was even upset about Micheal's reaction towards him.

But...

You okay?

They shared a fleeting glance with each other, Will nodding his head so slightly that Jeremy was positive that no one else had noticed.

"Jenna has informed me that the others are only a few days away, a week if we are lucky. We no longer have the luxury of taking our time, we need to get ready to leave. We will be heading out on the first train tomorrow."

"What?" While everyone else had been expecting as much, Jeremy had to admit that he hadn't thought that Will had managed to get that far in the few minutes he'd spent getting the others up. He could completely understand the disbelief in Micheal's voice. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes." Will said, not skipping a beat as he continued. "I have already purchased all of the tickets we need for the train ride to Brooklyn New York. We will be there for a total of two days before we move on to our next destination."

"Brooklyn? You're not going to..."

"Yes Jennifer, we are going to need his help."

"Oh for the love of god."

Although Jeremy had no idea just who they were talking about, he figured that whoever was waiting for them up in Brooklyn must have been one of the few remaining squips that weren't out for their blood.

"In those two days we will also be stopping by the University of Harvard. We should have an idea of where to go to from there."

"Oh my god!" Jenna suddenly squealed, her sudden mood swing making everyone else jump. "We're talking to her too! It's been so long since I've seen her!"

Will smiled at her excitement, but Rich and Jake looked just as lost as the rest of them. Not that, that was to surprising. They didn't seem to have much contact with other squips besides themselves. No doubt this whole journey was going to be like a huge reunion to them.

The unsettled nerves he'd been feeling from early seemed to fade away in the excitement of the idea of meeting all of these people, or really, squips. Of meeting the ones who had grown up with Will. Of travelling around talking and find others just like Will had been doing for years. Ever since he'd met him Will had been a little ill footed in Jeremy's world of normal and average. He couldn't wait to see just how much he thrived in an environment that he grew up in. He couldn't wait to learn from him.

"So you're just going to take off to New York tomorrow?" Micheal questioned, resting his chin on his fist as he glared at Will. "Just how the hell are we supposed to find new roommates in that time? Are we even supposed to look for roommates? How long will you guys be gone? That is if you're going to come back at all."

Well, Jeremy hadn't thought of that. The roommate thing. Obviously the dying part had been rolling over in his mind for a little while now.

But yeah, if they did leave Rich and Micheal here, how on earth were they supposed to pay for the rest? It was hard enough for them to get the money when they all lived together. How in the world were just two people going to pay for it?

"I have already taken care of that." Will muttered, waving the issues off as if it wasn't a big deal. "In case you have not noticed but I have a rather unlimited amount of funds. I have set up an account for you and Rich that will pay the full amount of rent on the first of every month." To Micheal's other questions however he grew more serious, his gaze all but burning into the other as he spoke. "And as for when we will be back I truly can not give you an accurate amount of time. Once we find out just where they are staying we will be able to have a better handle on the situation. Do not think however that just because we are gone we will not be communicating. Everyone is free to stay in contact with everyone if they wish and we will keep you up to date on what is going on."

Micheal didn't have anything else to say to that, just shaking his head once more as he turned his glare to the top of the table, Rich out right ignoring him as he kept his gaze on Will.

"So what should we bring with us Will?" Christine asked, her soft voice easing the tension in his face as he turned to her.

"Nothing more than a small backpack full of essentials. A few shirts, a few pairs of pants, toothbrush, toothpaste, items that you can not live without. Other things such as books, accessories, cell phones, and the like are to be left behind. I will get you all new phones but your old ones will be tracked the moment the know that you are travelling with me. So we will have to have you get rid of them."

Christine nodded her head at the information, already looking at her cell phone in deep thought.

"Can I remove the pictures I have on here first?"

Will smiled at her softly, nodding to her question. "Of course. I suggest all of you take the time to take any personal information off of there that you would like to keep."

"And as for classes?" Jake stepped in, Jenna letting out a loud sigh at the mere thought of school. "I know that it sounds dumb but I don't want to miss a year."

"Tell me what classes you have and I will get you set up online. When we come back I will switch it back and it will appear as if you have never left. Or if you prefer you can just graduate on there."

"Sounds good to me." Jake said, stealing a glance at Christine who smiled at him in return.

"Me too." She added, slipping her phone back in her pocket.

"Perfect." Will muttered, everyone assuming the conversation was over and moving to start their packing. "There is just one other matter to discuss." That caught all of their attention, everyone shifting glances over to each other as they slowly lowered themselves back to their spots. "Jeremy has informed me that we will all be singing with Brooke tonight. It would be greatly appreciated if everyone could be there."

"Oh right." Christine half whispered under her breath, mostly muttering to herself. "I completely forgot about that."

"We'll be there Will." Jake said, getting back up from his seat and walking up beside Christine.

"Have fun." Micheal muttered, Rich's attention snapping back to him as he let out another hiss.

"What? You're not going?"

"To watch everyone I care about spend one last night together before they march off to certain doom?" Micheal sneered, the smile over his face to sickeningly sweet to be anything but a mockery of the gesture. "Ya, no thanks."

"But Micheal..."

"Did you even bother to tell Brooke about what's going on?" Micheal snapped, turning on Jeremy when he tried to speak. "Do you even care how she's going to feel when she realizes that you're not in class anymore. That none of you are? How do you think she's going to feel about that?"

"Oh get off your high horse Micheal." Rich snapped, pushing himself away from the counter and marching up to him. "You're already not going. The least you can do is say goodbye to everyone and not be an ass about it."

"I refuse to support them just throwing their lives away." Micheal snapped stubbornly. "I don't care about what you guys think about i-."

No one was ready for the slap, for the sharp noise that echoed around the room or the dead silence that followed. Even Will looked stunned. His body freezing where he was, his face tight and his gaze refusing to be torn from Rich. Jeremy himself wasn't sure just what to do, if there was anything he could do, watching uselessly as Micheal raised his hand to his red cheek, his eyes wide behind his glasses as he looked down at Rich.

Thankfully the slap didn't seem to hurt Micheal, the hit more to daze him and shut him up than anything, but it still made something rear in Jeremy as he watched Micheal shake it off, his dark brown orbs narrowing down at the smaller male before him.

"You're a fucking idiot Micheal." Rich snarled, hissing the words somehow through the clench in his teeth.

"Rich..." Jeremy tried to move forward, to say something, to do something, to try and put an end to this, or get them to back off. But Rich turned on him, his hand flying out, a large wave of crackling light spreading out in the shape of a boomerang, nearly frying Jeremy if Will hadn't suddenly stepped before him and redirected it.

It slammed against the wall, spreading out like sand hitting stone before it fade, leaving behind a large black mark, the paint peeling from the walls, the drywall underneath it bubbling from the burn.

Jeremy froze, his throat bobbing as his attention was torn to what could have happened to him, of the sheer amount of power that these guys held. At least he wasn't going to have to worry about leaving Micheal behind. Rich was no push over in the power department it seemed.

"Calm yourself Richard." Will warned, his voice darker than Jeremy could ever recall hearing, his fingers twitching at his sides, sparks dancing around their tips.

Rich took a quick glance at the damage he had done, as if he couldn't believe that he had really done it. He had the decency to look guilty, shifting his gaze to Jeremy before he shook the feeling off and turned back to Micheal.

"If it wasn't for Will, I wouldn't be here. Jake wouldn't be here. Jenna wouldn't be here. There are a countless amount of us who wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Will. And ya, he's killed people but you know what? So have I, so has Jenna and Jake and every single squip you'll ever meet."

Well... this was new...

"I've killed for Will before. Just like he's killed for me. It was the only way to stay alive for us. We fought for each other and with each other." Rich seethed, grabbing a fistful of Micheal's sweater and yanking him down to better snap in his face. "And since you've stopped me from helping him this time I want you to know that if anything happens to him, if anything happens to any one of them, I will walk out to those woods and you will never see me again."

No one had dared move again, the sheer rage in Rich voice making them still as if afraid that he would turn on them if they so much as shifted.

"Because if they don't come back. If they end up losing and we could have been there to help, I will never forgive myself for it."

Rich finally let him go, shoving him back a step, but his glare never easing up once as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Go to the stupid thing tonight Micheal. It might be the last time you get to see your friends before they end up getting killed."

Before he could say anything, before he could take so much as one step towards his best friend, Rich turned, bright blue eyes that Jeremy wasn't use to seeing on the other Squip's face narrowing down at him. An impressive feat considering that Rich was so much smaller than he was.

"Jeremy, we're heading to the school to pick up everyone's belongings. The rest of you stay here and pack."

"Richard..."

"I'm not going to lay a hand on him Will I swear." Rich muttered, "you can skin me alive if he comes back with so much as a scratch."

Sharing a look with his boyfriend Jeremy tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he was sure it came out as a pathetic attempt.

"I'll stay in touch." He mumbled out quickly, grabbing a hold of the tips of Will's fingers and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry we'll be right back."

Will didn't look like he wanted him to go, and Jeremy couldn't blame him after the little show that Rich had put on, but... there was something off about this. Something that just didn't feel right. And he had a feeling that if their was something going on with Rich, this was going to be his only chance to find out.

So, without another word Jeremy quickly followed after Rich.

It wasn't until they were out the door and had gone down the street far enough that they could no longer see the house that Rich stopped. Jeremy stumbled to a stop beside him, not sure what was going on, but watching carefully as Rich took in a deep breath, removing his hands from his pockets as he did so.

Jeremy's eyes went wide at the sight of the tremors running through them.

"I hit him."

His words were weak, a mere whisper, nothing like they'd been just a moment ago.

"I almost killed you."

His eyes were wide as he looked down at his hands, his bottom lip trembling as tears dripped off his chin, his shoulders starting to shake.

"Fuck. I-I didn't mean to do that. Shit what did I..."

Jeremy jumped back, startled by the sudden move Rich made as he turned to the side and fell to his knees, throwing up over curb, his body heaving with the effort.

He didn't say anything, there wasn't anything that he could think of to say, but he felt useless just standing off to the side. Cautiously he stepped closer to Rich, kneeling down beside him and rubbing at his back. Surprisingly Rich didn't snap at him, or try to swat him away. Instead he sat back, bringing one hand up to wipe at his mouth and the other at his eyes, seeming to lean into Jeremy's touch as he gave a loud sniffle.

"Fuck. What the fuck is going on?"

Jeremy still didn't have anything to say. He had no idea himself.

His lack of a response didn't seem to bother Rich any though. He just gave one last sniff, trying to pull his world back together as he got to his feet. Jeremy followed after him when he started walking, wondering what Will might do in this situation. He had a feeling it wouldn't matter even if he did know. There was no way that Rich would allow him to get away with half of the stuff that Will did anyways.

So Jeremy just kept an eye on him from the corner of his vision, his brows pulling together when he noticed that Rich's hands were still shaking. When he could see that he was slowly falling to pieces.

He might not have been Will, and he might not know what to do, but at the very least he could distract Rich.

"Why'd you want me to come with you?"

Rich almost didn't hear his question, his eyes blinking slowly as he took in the words.

"What?"

"I just, well, out of everyone there, why did you want me to come to school with you to pick everything up?" He elaborated, watching carefully as Rich gave a soft shake of his head, like he was trying to wake himself up.

"I thought that you could talk to Brooke and set up the thing for tonight, after all you know her."

That couldn't have been the whole thing. If that was all Rich wanted him for than he could have just as well asked Christine. She'd been friends with Brooke for a lot longer than Jeremy had. There had to be something else to it.

The silence that fell between them became tense and heavy, Jeremy not taking his gaze off of Rich as they continued to walk, allowing the weight to sit on Rich's shoulders as he squirmed. All he had to do was wait for him to crack. And Rich was just one step away from shattering.

"Rich-."

"I didn't want you around Micheal!" Rich finally snapped, turning on Jeremy so quickly that he flinched. When Rich saw his reaction he quickly settled himself back down, taking in a deep breath before he spoke again. "I just... I-I know that it sounds dumb and that I've probably just ruined things permanently but... I-I still care. About Micheal." Rich said, his eyes darting, finding everything but Jeremy's face suddenly very interesting. "I-I really want to... I really wanted to marry him." Rich confessed, sliver lining his eyes again that he was quick to wipe away. "But than all of this shit happened and I can't... I can't even feel him anymore Jeremy."

Jeremy couldn't help but give a slight tilt of his head at that. He wasn't quiet sure just where Rich was going with this, but the look over his face was nothing but pain, the light in his eyes completely snuffed out as Rich dropped his gaze to the concrete before them, as if keeping them raised just took to much energy he didn't have anymore.

"Well..." What was he supposed to say to that? "Um, you could always brush by him or something I guess?"

"No." Rich let out a short hiss, his one hand shooting up to run through his hair, his brows furrowing in aggravation. "No, not like, not physically feel. I-I can't feel him anymore. My connection with him is... it's just gone. Like he's blocked me out completely."

Huh. Hadn't Will mentioned something like that before? Hadn't he said that..?

This time it was Jeremy who came to a sudden halt, his hand snapping out to wrap around Rich's arm as he pulled him to a stop to meet his gaze.

"Wait. You're saying that Micheal's cut off the connection? Like completely blocked you out?"

The frown over Rich's face grew, his head nodding when his words failed.

"Couldn't that like... doesn't that kill you?"

"Eventually, ya."

Shit.

"Does Micheal know?" There was no way that Micheal could know that he was doing this. There was no way that he would willingly put Rich in danger like that. Not when he was doing everything that he possibly could in order to make sure that Rich stayed out of harms way.

When Rich shook his head it was hardly a relief, but at least it was better than thinking that his friend might be trying to intentionally hurt Rich.

"We have to go tell him."

"No, Jeremy." Rich grabbed at him, stopping him before he could head any closer to their home, to where Micheal was. The look of desperation on his face was enough to make him pause, but he knew that he was going to have to tell Micheal, no matter what Rich said. He was going to have to say something. "You can't say anything. You can't, please. Just, just don't say anything. To anyone."

"Rich this is bad." There had to be a way to reason with him, to make him see that there was no way that Jeremy could not say something. "You could die if this goes on to long. You could..."

"I know that." Rich snapped. "But if, but if Micheal finds out than he'll panic and I- he, he won't be able to forgive himself for it."

"You basically just told him that you would kill yourself if we-." Jeremy cut himself off. He couldn't say it. Could barely even think of it as an outcome. So he didn't, skipping over it as he turned back to face Rich. "How would that be any different than this?"

Rich let out an aggravated scoff, waving his hand vaguely in the air before he turned back to Jeremy. "I just freaked out at him in front of everyone. No doubt Christine is with him right now telling him that I'm just lashing out and that if anything happens to any of them it won't be his fault." Funnily enough, Jeremy was sure that's just what was happening. "It's something that he needs to hear from the ones that are going," Rich continued, "not from me, and not from himself. If something does happen to you guys, god forbid, than he'll latch on to her words like a lifeline. Those are the words he needed to hear, but no one will say them unless I make a huge scene first."

Rich let out a long sigh, the very fight in him draining into nothingness as his gaze zoned out into the distance.

"After you guys leave, if I just wander away and die he won't blame himself for that. He'll be mad at me for making that choice." Jeremy continued to listen in silence as Rich finally brought himself back, finally brought his eyes back up to meet with Jeremy's. "But if he finds out that he's cut off the connection, if he realizes what that means, that he was the one who... he'll separate himself even further from me. Even if he opens the connection again, it-it won't be the same. I'm the one who fucks up. I'm the one who doesn't care if other people get hurt by my actions. If Micheal found out that I ended up dying because he shut me out he'd never forgive himself for it. It would kill him."

"I have to tell him."

"You can't. You can't mention this to anyone. Not even Will."

"If you don't want anyone to know than why did you tell me?" Jeremy grumbled, the hold that Rich had on his arm really starting to hurt now.

"Because I need you to make sure that Will doesn't find out." Rich confessed. "I need you to know to be careful around me until you leave and to stay away from Micheal so that I don't accidentally go phyco and try and take you out."

Jeremy jerked back, not sure if Rich meant now or later.

"You'd actually do that?"

"Not willingly, but you have to understand Jeremy, I'm going to start panicking pretty soon. It's been days since I've... I-I won't be able to stop myself. It's like depriving an addict and than holding their vice before them when they go into withdrawal. I won't have any idea about what I'm doing."

"Rich, if we tell Will..."

"Than he won't go." Rich snapped. "He won't get away from here and either JD will kill him, or one of the others will."

"You could die Rich." He had to see that at least. He had to understand that. "Will told me that if you get cut off from your host than you can die. You have no idea how badly that would mess up Micheal. How badly that would mess up Will. And what about everyone else? Rich, I would lose my mind if anything were to happen to you."

They never had the best relationship out of the group, in fact they were admittedly the worst, not even sure if they could place friend anywhere near their title for one another but, they'd been getting better. Over the last month they had slowly been building towards an understanding, a tolerance that Jeremy might even dare to call a friendship. But it wouldn't have mattered what they called themselves. If something happened to Rich and Jeremy knew about it and could have stopped it, he would never be able to forgive himself for the pain that it would put everyone through, for the pain that Rich would be willing to suffer to get to that point.

"I'll be fine Jeremy." Rich muttered. "It's not like this is a three day process, it'll take at least a month, and I'm sure that I can get Micheal to open up the connection subconsciously by than."

Jeremy scowled. He didn't like it one bit but if it would take an entire month...

"If you don't manage to fix things with Micheal in three weeks, I'm telling Will and Micheal."

Rich scowled back at him, their expressions mirroring each other almost perfectly. But Jeremy wasn't going to back down on this. He didn't care what Rich might threaten to do to him, he wasn't going to allow someone he cared about to suffer like this if he could stop it.

"Fine." Rich grumbled, finally letting go of Jeremy as he continued walking towards the school. "But if you say anything to them beforehand than I'm going to rip off your balls Tallass."

Jeremy was able to breath a little easier at the familiar nickname. Trailing just a little ways behind Rich as they moved to their destination. He allowed the silence to stretch out for a little while, watching Rich carefully once more, his eyes falling on the slight shake that was still in Rich's hands before he hid them away in the pockets of his jacket.

"Rich," He kept his voice soft, drawing the other stare from over his shoulder as he offered him a small smile, "just... if there's anything that I can do. Just, let me know okay?"

Blond brows arched, but only for a moment before Rich nodded his head, turning his head back around.

"Thanks Jeremy."

(***)

"It's being moved to tonight?"

The shock on Brooke's face was easy to spot as Jeremy gave her a short nod.

He had a hard time meeting her gaze, his hands feeling strangely sweaty as he spoke. It felt like he was lying to her. Like he was trying to set her up for something terrible. But that wasn't it at all, but he still couldn't shake the feeling away but...

With everything that had just happened, with the group, with Micheal, with Rich, this seemed like the least of his problems. And yet, the idea of just leaving her high and dry didn't sit right either, even if there was a countless amount of other things to worry about. Now his thoughts were just going around in circles. Taking in a deep breath he forced himself to calm down, to face her and smile reassuringly.

"Ya, I'm sorry but tonight's going to be the only time that we can all make it." It wasn't exactly a lie, this was going to be the only time that they would all be able to make it, but that didn't make him feel any better. "Is that going to work for you?"

He hadn't thought about that. What if she had classes going on late? What if she had some after school activity or dinner with her parents or a whole list of other possibilities that he hadn't even thought of? Sure they might have been able to make it, but what if she couldn't?

But she smiled, and any thought that he had of her saying 'no' fled his mind as he instantly relaxed.

"Of course! I mean it's a little short notice but Chloe and I can make it I'm sure. I'll just text her and let her know."

Jeremy smiled back at her as she turned her attention to fishing her phone out of her pocket to text her girlfriend.

He was really going to miss her. He was going to miss seeing her cheery smile and hearing her happy voice and her chime sounding laugh. Especially in the days to come. Maybe if they made it through all of this they would meet up some time again in the distant future.

He could only hope that it could happen. Only hope that everything might go back to the way it was before and that no one would ever be in danger again. After all once they got rid of the threat, there wouldn't be any reason that Will and the rest of them wouldn't be able to live a normal life.

Hm... living a normal life with Will... The idea was strangely intriguing. He wondered just what it would be like. Maybe Will would end up becoming some type of social worker, or a nutritionist or something. Would they end up adopting kids? Would Will want any? Jeremy didn't think he was to interested in the idea, at least- not right now, but there was a brief thought of future Will holding a baby that made him smile. He had a feeling that Will would be a good dad, or at the very least, an amazing uncle. Maybe they could just kidnap their friends kids every once and awhile.

He couldn't help but wonder what kind of house they would get, if Will wanted to live in the city or if he would prefer the country. Would he even want a house? Maybe they'd do better living in an apartment. What if Will didn't want to live anywhere? He'd spent so long wandering around what if he just wanted to do that instead? Without having to worry about people- or really squips- hunting him down he could have a lot more fun. He could actually enjoy the different cultures and the people. He could go out and experience life.

But could Will ride on boats? Did he get sea sick? Did he get motion sick? Was he claustrophobic or afraid of heights? If he decided that he wanted them to travel was Jeremy going to have to make sure that he had certain kinds of medication? Could Will drive? Why is it that Jeremy could easily see him riding a motorcycle?

"Um? Jeremy?"

Blinking himself out of his thoughts he forced his mind to focus back on Brooke.

She was staring up at her, her brows pulled together in concern as she twirled some of her blond hair around her finger.

"Are you okay?"

"Ya. Sure thing. Never better. Why?" Oh, that response was so far from the truth it hurt to utter, but he thought he'd been doing well to hide it, and his last few thoughts had actually been rather sweet. He couldn't help but wonder what it was that he had done wrong as she sucked in her bottom lip while she continued to watch him.

"You were just... zoning out. You have this dreamy, dazed kind of smile on your face. What were you thinking about?"

"Will." The name slipped out before he could stop it. His face lighting up bright red as he quickly snapped his mouth shut.

She didn't make fun of him though, a smile lighting up her face once again as he tried to get the heat in his cheeks to cool.

"Not in like-uh, well, you know, any kind of perverted way or anything, not that I don't-I-ah, well I guess you really don't need to hear about that, it's just I was wondering what our life was going to be like if we-or you know, when we get older and where he'd like to live and if well, it's a long way in the future and-not that I want any now or anything- but if he'd maybe one day want to have kids or if he'd want to travel the world or stay here and what kind of place he would like and..." He ran out of air, needing to stop to breath, his face going redder and redder with every word spilling passed his lips like word vomit. "I-I'm sorry. I, uh, I didn't mean to stutter or um, you know, ramble..."

"Aw! That's so cute! You two are adorable!" Brooke was quick to hop up to him, wrapping her surprisingly strong arms around him in a big hug that just about cut off what little oxygen he had.

Man, for someone so small she sure was strong. Kind of like Will and Rich he supposed. Deceiving in appearance. Small but mighty.

When she let him go he found the air coming back to his lungs. The bright smile over her lips pulled one to his own.

"You guys are going to make it. I just know it."

"You think so?"

He was sure that the words didn't mean what he thought they did, but it was still nice to hear. That they would make it. That they would all make it out of this and that they could get to the future life that Jeremy was tumbling over in his head.

Honestly though if he was going to think about their future he was going to get Will involved, see just what his thoughts were on everything.

"Certainly!" Brooke grinned, hopping on her toes in her excitement. "I can already imagine the wedding! It's going to be the cutest thing!"

Well, someday sure, but not right now. That was going to be awhile yet into the future. But he could allow her to think about it.

Chuckling at her enthusiasm he wished that he could stay longer, but he was going to have to head back to the house soon. Will had told him that he would sort out all of his classes, however he was going to do that Jeremy didn't have the slightest clue, but he still needed to sort through his things, find out what he needed and what was going to have to be left behind.

He had a feeling that it wasn't going to be nearly as easy as it sounded.

"I'd love to stay and continue talking Brooke," his words seemed to come out of nowhere for her, the smile sliding off her face as she focused back in on him, "but I have to head back to the house with Rich."

"Oh, Rich is here?" She glanced around the hall quickly, as if Rich could just morph out of nothing and appear before them. He chuckled again as he gave a small shake of his head, placing his hands in his pockets.

"He's just picking up a few things from some of Jake's and Christine's classes." Because he wasn't going. He didn't try to hide his disdain for that in any way, shape or form when he'd left with Jeremy to help grab the rest of their stuff from the rooms.

"Oh? Are they not feeling well?"

"What?" Bring drawn back into the conversation his brows furrowed together as he tried to think about just why Jake and Christine wouldn't be feeling well.

"You said that Rich was picking stuff up for them from their classes. I thought maybe they were just sick and that's why they weren't here." She said, her brow arching as she watched him.

"Oh. Oh! Uh, um, no, t-they're fine, really. Just um, busy. A bunch of stuff came up that they had to deal with so, they won't be in school today. I won't either actually I just came to pick up a few things too."

"Well if you guys are to busy than we can just postpone karaoke night for next week or the week after that. I don't mind."

"No!" He sudden shout made her jump, a few people who'd been wandering the halls tossing glances over at them as he ducked his head to hide his burning face. "No, it's okay. We can make it tonight. Don't worry."

She eyed him for a long time, her lips pinching up as gave her a strained smile back. He felt like she could see right through him. Like she was figuring out what was really going on. When one of her tiny hands rested gently on his shoulder, he found his grin dropping, falling to the ground and leaving him bare as she stared up at him.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked, her words soft so that they wouldn't be picked up by anyone else wandering by. "Is everything alright? If any of you need help than I can see what I can do."

Jeremy couldn't do anything other than stare back at her. As much as he like Brooke, honestly he'd only known her for a few weeks at best. And yet, she was willing to help, willing to put herself in any sort of position if it meant making sure that they were okay. And ya, okay fine, she'd known Christine for at least last year, and it would make sense for her to offer her help to one of her best friends, but that didn't normally extend to friends of best friends that you didn't really know.

And he wanted to tell her. He wanted to explain what was really going on if only so that she wouldn't freak out when they all just disappeared but... he knew that he couldn't. The more she knew the more danger she would be in and he wasn't willing to risk her life for something as stupid as asking her to help when he knew that there was nothing that she could do.

So instead he worked his smile back over his face, taking a hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"We're fine Brooke. I promise. But, thank you."

She didn't look like she believed him, but she didn't say anything else on the matter.

Knowing that there was nothing else that he could say Jeremy gave out a small sigh, his chest already tightening at the thought that this would be one of the last times that he would see her. One of the last times that they might ever speak together. But he shoved the thought from his mind, knowing that if he started thinking like that, than they would already have lost a fight they hadn't even truly started yet.

"I'll see you tonight?"

"Ya. We'll meet you guys there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: What Rich and Jeremy talk about was talked about with Will and Jeremy in chapter 8. Just in case anyone doesn't remember that since it was so long ago! XD Also! Good news! I'm writing up chapter 47 now and I think it'll be the last one! :D That or chapter 48, but yay! XD And than we'll all move on to book two! :D Thanks for sticking with this far though everyone! :D We're almost finished! XD
> 
> Also, in case anyone is interested, I need to work on writing my rated M/E scenes because seriously I suck at them. DX So, if anyone would like to give me prompts or ideas or pairings to go with than just let me know in the comments of PM me and I'll post it under the title of 'More Than Survive Rated R'. It doesn't have to be with the set pairings from this story, you can mix and match anyone you want the only thing is that I don't do underage, or rape/noncon, pretty much everything else is on the table. :)
> 
> Well! That's all my lovelies! :D Have a great week everyone! XD


	41. Chapter 41

Will tried to stay focused on what he was doing. On packing the things that he needed into the bag that he had snatched up while simultaneously sorting through the online websites for the different classes that everyone wanted to continue. He tried not to keep glancing at the clock, tried not to stare out the window at the street, tried not to count every second until Jeremy was supposed to contact him again.

He was trying.

But honestly he was failing pretty miserably.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Richard, or well, is wasn't that he didn't want to trust Richard but... He'd never seen him so... out of control before. Richard had just lashed out, without warning, without a second thought. Jeremy had simply said his name and Richard had turned on him, ready to strike him down.

Sure he'd seen the look on Richard's face. The instant regret that had filled him, the horror that had crossed his features when he realized just what he had done, but that didn't erase the fact that he had nearly killed Jeremy.

Just what was going on with him? True while he hadn't seen Richard in quiet a few years, he still couldn't recall a time when he'd ever been this out of control.

And he hadn't wanted Jeremy to go with him. He wanted to keep him close, to keep him within his line of sight but... there was something- off. Something about the tenseness in Richard's shoulders, the look in his eyes, that made Will back off. Not only that, but Jeremy had seemed to want to go.

Besides, he couldn't hold Richard's anger against him. They had all snapped at some point. Will had more than his fair share of outburst. His fair share of injured bystanders, and no one had been there to move them out of the way. They might have been supercomputers, but they got over whelmed just as much as the next human. It was just that people tended to get hurt when they did.

And it was also practically Will's fault that Richard was in such a mood.

Before he'd appeared in the picture, the two seemed to have been doing well for themselves. The moment that Will had showed up their worlds had been flipped, their entire lives interrupted, and than he'd gone and ruined the one thing in the world that made Richard the happiest. His relationship with Micheal.

He hadn't thought that everything would explode in the way that it had. He'd been hoping that maybe the two would be able to work through it. Not that he'd thought that it would all be resolved in a day but, he didn't think that it would get worse.

Then he'd watched in stunned stupidity as Richard had slapped Micheal.

He'd just froze. He had no idea just what to do. He knew that the hit hadn't been meant to hurt. If any of them wanted to hurt their hosts it would be all to easy, but still. He was going to have to talk to his friend about that. It just... it wasn't appropriate, no matter the circumstances, even if Micheal was making it harder than he believed was truly necessary.

~We're almost home.~

The voice spread a warmth through him, his movements coming to a slow pause as he relished in the softness of the words. He could feel his body relaxing, his mind quieting in it's turmoil, his toes curling slightly at the phantom touch sent down from the other end.

He wondered if Jeremy was even aware of what he was doing. Wondered if Jeremy knew he could send such strong feelings down the line that they could actually touch even if they weren't physically near each other.

~I am glad to hear it.~

He abandoned all of his tasks, knowing that he wasn't going to be getting any work done. Not now, not with his mind zeroed in on what was so much more important.

~There wasn't much to pick up so we didn't need to stay long, but I don't think Rich is ready to head home just yet. We're just stopping by an ice cream truck, I'm hoping it will help calm him down.~

Will highly doubted that a frozen dairy treat would help out whatever was plaguing his friend, but he didn't see the harm in trying. Besides, it sounded as if they were doing just fine. Jeremy didn't sound scared or hurt. He was okay.

~Would you like anything?~

It took him a moment to understand just what Jeremy was talking about, but his mind managed to respond nonetheless.

~Thank you, but I do not eat dairy.~

~I know, but they have dairy-free stuff here.~

The words were accompanied with a light air, a happy little chirp that pulled a smile to the corner of Will's lips without his notice.

~They have strawberry, chocolate, oo, peanut butter chocolate chip. That sounds like fun.~

Unable to help himself at the joy in Jeremy's voice, Will chuckled, giving a small shake of his head.

~Strawberry sounds lovely.~

~And so does your voice.~

The comment, the suggested purr in the words left Will blushing bright red, ducking his chin to hide his face from no one. A shiver trailed down his spine and a tremble wrack through his whole body at the seductive stroke against the bond, his hips jerking forward without his consent and his stomach flipping over.

Oh, that ass. He knew just what he was doing.

~See you in a bit Kitten.~

The blush on his face grew worse at the pet name that Jeremy had picked out, but he couldn't find it in himself to snap at him for it, instead, a small whine tumbled from his mouth, forcing him to bite down on his bottom lip to fight against it.

Giving another shake of his head he tried to remember just what it was he'd been working on before, but his thoughts felt to muddled now, his heart thudding hard in his chest and his body thrumming with energy that seemed to have no release. He sighed, dropping his head back and glaring at the ceiling.

He was so lost in his thoughts, in wanting to equally snap at Jeremy and kiss him the second that he walked in the door, that he didn't hear someone enter the room. Didn't even notice when he dropped his gaze back to the two backpacks, shook his head and placed his hands on his hips with a scowl, that someone had walked in. It wasn't until he heard the soft click of the door that he spun around, his lips pulled back in a snarl as his hands jumped up to his sides, power already sparking off of them.

But he was met with the sight of Micheal. Not Jason, or any of the other squips. Just his boyfriend's best friend.

He quickly wiped the shock from his face, settling his features back into something more natural as he arched a brow at the bigger male, wondering just what it was that he wanted.

"Yes? Is there something that I can help you with Micheal?"

Micheal's lips were tight, pressed into such a thin line they almost didn't appear to be there at all, but he didn't unsettle Will. At least, he didn't intimidate him. Will was sure that if he hurt one hair on Micheal's head both Jeremy and Richard wouldn't speak to him for weeks, and he couldn't suffer through that. If Micheal was planning to get violent with him than the only thing that Will would be able to do would be to dodge and get away. Or teleport, but that took a lot of energy, he didn't want to burden Jeremy with having to recharge him, and he highly doubted it would get to that. Micheal was a big teddy bear, violence was never his go-to in anything. He was just far too sweet for that.

Or at least he was to his friends... Not something that Will would really call himself.

"Jeremy told me I should apologize to you," Micheal muttered, the words coming out as if he was suffering through the pain of someone tearing out his teeth. "But I'm going, to be honest, I don't like you very much. You were an ass to Jeremy and you walk around with this mightier than thou kind of thing and you're kind of a priss," No one could say that Micheal wasn't straight to the point when he wanted to be, "not to say that you haven't gotten better or anything but, well, I still don't really like you all that much."

"Fair enough."

Will could understand that. He really could. Besides, just because Jeremy liked him didn't mean that his friends all had too. Honestly, Will was still shocked that Christine liked him so much, but then again the girl was a living version of a human saint so he supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised.

"I mean if I could I'd tell you just to slip away while everyone's distracted," Micheal continued, his one hand coming up to play with the cord of his large headphones while the other buried itself deeply into the pocket of his hoodie, "but you'd die without Jeremy and... I don't like you, but I don't want you to die either. And if anything happened to you Jeremy would be a mess so..." Micheal trailed off, his shoulder rising in a shrug as he stepped closer.

Will crossed his arms over his chest, wondering if this was going somewhere or if it was just something Micheal needed him to know before he left. He stayed silent, doing nothing more than watching carefully as the other meandered about the room, drifting closer to him until he was just a few feet away.

When Micheal stopped before him he finally lifted his head up, his deep brown eyes clashing with Will's bright blues, the wild ocean crashing into unmovable land.

"I can't apologize to you, I don't want your forgiveness," Micheal said, his words strangely void. "But... just, please, make sure they all come back."

Will was silent. He didn't know if he could answer. Not with what Micheal wanted to hear anyways. So he went with the only truth that he could give him.

"I will do my best."

He knew that it wasn't good enough.

But it was all he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Alrighty! So since this one and the next one is short, I'll be posting the next chapter on Thursday. :) Be happy though! The Karaoke night is coming up! XD I'll be chapter 43! I hope everyone enjoys it! I had a fun time writing it! :D


	42. Chapter 42

"Jeremy."

He just about jumped out of his skin, Will seeming to pop out of nowhere the second that he and Rich had entered the house, nearly dropping the ice cream cone in his hand.

"Jesus Kitten, you startled me."

"Sorry."

He let out a small sigh, staring down at the bright blue eyes as Will quickly looked him over. Without giving Will a second to escape he threw his arm around his shoulders, tugging him in close, hoping that the sound of his heartbeat would help to settle the others nerves. If he could hear his heart beating, if he could feel the warmth of Jeremy's body, it might help to make sure that he didn't lash out at Rich for no reason. Rich had been true to his word, he hadn't laid a hand on Jeremy at all.

He just dropped quite a few bombs on him was all.

Even now as he stared down at Will he could feel a swell of guilt swirling like the starting of a tornado in his stomach, his smile feeling to forced, to stiff to be natural. He felt like Will would be able to see just from the look on his face that something was wrong. But Jeremy had told Rich that he wouldn't say a word, that he would even help distract Will from anything weird that might be going on with the shortest member of their group until they left tomorrow.

He could only hope that when Will found out just what was going on, that he wouldn't end up throttling them both for lying to him about it.

But for now, distraction.

"Your strawberry, non-dairy ice cream." He said with a flourish, holding it before Will. "I'm sure it's just as sweet as you."

"Be still my beating heart."

The sass surprised Jeremy, it was a tone that he wasn't use to hearing coming from the other, not in such a playful way anyways, but the little smile on Will's face warmed his heart.

"Ugh. Enough. We get it, you two are adorable." Rich muttered, moving around them and down the stairs.

Jeremy almost felt guilty, flirting so openly with Rich's best friend when the guy's own relationship had fallen to piece so badly that his life was in danger. But, he was doing what Rich wanted him to do, and Will was to cute not to flirt with so...

Will slipped away from under Jeremy's arm, making a move to follow after his friend while Jeremy internally panicked. He couldn't be failing this one thing that Rich wanted him to do already.

"Wait Richard there is..."

"Ah Will wait!" Jeremy exclaimed, grabbing a hold of his wrist, drawing Will's attention back to him and allowing Rich to slip away. When Will turned to face him he didn't have anything to say. He just stood there stupidly, staring at the other with wide eyes as his mind raced.

His stupid brain wouldn't think though. His mind unable to come up with even the lamest of excuses as his eyes darted everywhere, looking for anything that he could use.

"Um, ah, well..." His eyes lowered to the hand he was holding, to the ice cream cone gently wrapped in Will's fingers, and suddenly, he got an idea.

Will needed to be distracted, and what distracted young people more than hormones?

"Your ice creams melting. It's going to get all over the floor."

Will just arched a brow at him, his eyes glancing to where Rich had disappeared to before moving back towards Jeremy.

"I will be careful Jeremy, I just-."

But he didn't allow Will time to finish, or time to pull away as he raised Will's hand to his lips, his tongue darting out and swiping up the melted cream, stroking over Will's fingers and up to the tip of the dessert.

The stupefied look over Will's face was completely worth it, a real smile that had nothing to do with pretending coming to Jeremy's features at the impressive shade of red covering his cheeks.

"There we go. I think I got it all."

Will finally kicked back into gear, pulling away from Jeremy as he growled at him, his lips forming a snarl that didn't do anything to dull the colour in his cheeks.

"Honestly Jeremy-!"

"What?" Jeremy asked, faking innocence as he trailed his fingers up the curve of Will's spine, smirking inwardly at the involuntary shutter that travelled through the smaller male. "Would you prefer me to clean it off more... interesting places?"

He could have sworn that Will's brain short circuited for a moment, leaving him to just about fall down the three steps as Jeremy followed quickly after him, his hands at the ready just in case he need to catch his Squip. He wanted to distract Will, not make him face plant the floor.

"We have to finish packing." Will snapped, refusing to look at Jeremy as he made a beeline for their room.

Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle slightly to himself, glad that he'd managed his task so far. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So, another super short chapter, but the next one is a lot longer and we're finally getting to the karaoke part! XD Have a great week everyone! :D


	43. Chapter 43

"I'm glad that you decided to come with us."

The light that had been shining in Micheal's eyes from the joke that Brooke had just finished telling dimmed slightly at Jeremy's statement, but his smile was no less genuine as he gave a small nod of his head.

"Me too."

Clasping his friend on his shoulder Jeremy smiled back, but quickly let him go at the look that crossed Rich's face from the contact. He wasn't sure if Rich even noticed the way that every expression on his face vanished the second that Jeremy had reached out to his friend, or if Rich noticed that his eyes had zeroed in on Jeremy's hand with such a predatory focus that his whole body seemed to still with it. Jeremy had no idea just how no one else seemed to notice the slight change in Rich's appearance either, but than again they all had different problems on their minds and with the prospect of being hunted down and killed and leaving and all of the other stuff that they had to go through, he supposed he couldn't really blame them.

If Rich hadn't mentioned anything to him, Jeremy himself probably never would have picked up on it. But now that it was drawn to his attention he couldn't help but notice every little thing that Rich did or reacted to. He had to say that he was shocked about the way that his physical appearance seemed to be slipping though.

He'd thought that Rich's eyes had just turned blue when he'd just about attacked Jeremy, but they hadn't switched back yet and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe they had been that way a lot longer. The fact that his skin was much paler than before with a slight tinge of blue didn't seemed to be noticed by anyone but he guessed with the weather being so cold the others might have just been chalking it up to the fact that he wasn't getting enough sun, if they managed to notice at all. But Jeremy was noticing now, and the idea that Rich's appearance was changing was because it cost to much energy to keep it up made his stomach roll with fright.

There was no way that he wanted Rich to die. Best friends they were not, but he still cared for the guy, and he hated to see any of his friends suffer. But he'd told Rich the truth that he would rat him out if the problem wasn't fixed in three weeks. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if maybe Rich had lied to him about just how much time he had.

It was going to have to be something that he would have to bring up with Will, but just how he was going to do that naturally without tipping him off about anything was the thing that had him stumped.

"Okay guys!" Brooke grinned, her utter joy of doing Broadway karaoke for the first time adding such a glow to her face that it was nearly blinding. "Now that we're all here, who wants to start?"

"What about Jeremy?"

Will's suggestion left his mind blank, pulling his focus back to the here and now. Quickly he snapped his head over to face his boyfriend, narrowing his gaze at the slight smirk across Will's face while he lazily swished around the can that hung loosely from his fingers, Rich at his side and Jack on the other.

Will was really going to make him start them off?

"I must admit that this little assembly has made me rather curious to hear what your singing sounds like."

His face flushed at the small comment, not sure just why he was feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. He'd sung with his friends loads of times. Why should this time be any different?

"Oo! Me too!" Brooke grinned, bouncing on her seat as Chloe gave a small, unseen smile at her side.

"I am so filming this." Jenna grinned, whipping out her phone before shooting a look over to Will. "I'll send you a copy."

"Thank you."

Getting up from his seat Jeremy took a step around the table in the middle with where the mics stood. Frowning as he looked at the screen he couldn't help but wonder just what he should pick. A small part of him wanted to pick something that would make him sound fantastic, but honestly his voice was about average at most and the urge to choose something that would embarrass Will more called louder.

His lips curled into a smirk of his own as the perfect song came to mind, his confidence growing as he turned back to the rest of the group, his gaze meeting the challenge of Will's own as he beckoned him to join his side with a simple crook of his finger.

"Why don't we turn this into a duet and do it together?"

Will arched a brow at him, but when everyone else agreed enthusiastically, he knew that there was no way for Will to back out.

While Will made his way towards him, Jeremy turned back to the screen, making sure to cover it before anyone could see it, pausing it before it could start playing as he passed one of the mics to Will before snatching up his own.

"You're playing Kate Monster."

"Kate Monster?" Will echoed, his brow arching again as he took the mic and turned to the screen.

"Yup. She's singing about what kind of classes she'll want to be teaching once her school is built. Jake, Micheal, Rich, will you guys chime in when you need to?" He asked, quickly tossing a look at the other three.

From the giant grins on their faces he knew that they knew just what song he had picked.

"I call dibs on Princeton!" Rich shouted, the shit eating grin on his face just making Will raise a brow at him.

"I wanna be Gary." Jake grinned.

"I guess I'll play Rod." Micheal said, his smile calmer than the others but still highly amused.

"Wait, you guys aren't'..?"

But Jeremy quickly silenced Brooke, pressing his finger to his lips to keep her from giving away the title as he turned back to the screen.

Finally pressing play he allowed the music to drift over them for the few short seconds before Will started his part.

"Finally I get to teach a whole lesson all by myself," Will didn't sound nearly as enthusiastic as Kate did, but Jeremy found his version to be amusing as he pressed his lips into a thin line to keep from laughing at what was to come. "and I'm going to teach something relevant, something modern. The internet." When Will didn't add on her little exclamation at the end Jeremy found himself just a little disappointed, but finally Will started to sing the next words, and Jeremy was shocked at just how soothing his voice really was, even if it was for something that wasn't much to sing to. "The internet is really, really great."

"For porn."

The second that Jeremy blurted out his line Will snapped his head over to him, his mouth dropping open in shock as his eyes blew wide. The colour of his cheeks went flaming red, not even able to get out his next line in time as Jeremy laughed at his flustered look.

"Don't forget to sing along Will! For porn!" Jeremy quickly threw in his line at the end, Will snapping back to the screen, his face tight as he continued.

"There's always some new site,"

"For porn!"

"I browse all day and night."

"For porn!"

Will's face was absolutely burning now. "It's like I'm searching at the speed of light."

"Forrr porn!"

"Jeremy!" Will's snap was perfectly timed, and Jeremy was almost laughing to hard to push out his next line.

"The internet is for porn!" Jeremy sang, throwing his arm around Will's shoulders to keep him from going anywhere. "The internet is for porn!"

"What are you doing?" Although the words were on the screen Jeremy had a feeling that it was a pointed question as he nuzzled against Will's cheek.

"Why you think the net was born? Porn! Porn! Porn!"

By the end of the song just about everyone was dying of laughter. Will's face was so hot that Jeremy could feel the heat pouring off of him, and Jeremy had never seen someone replace a mic and return to their seat so fast. Rich was laughing so hard that he had to lean into Will to keep from falling to the floor. Jeremy grinned, tossing a wink at Will when he finally looked at him again, snickering lightly when Will quickly turned away with a huff.

Aw. You okay Kitten?

I am not talking to you.

You wanted me to start us off.

Not. Talking.

Still laughing away Jeremy turned back to the others, wondering just who he was going to pick now.

"Uh, Chloe."

Chloe seemed shocked, but Jeremy just smiled at her.

She gave a shrug of her shoulders, getting up to her feet and walking up to Jeremy, taking the mic from his hand.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." He grinned, moving back to his seat.

He couldn't help but be a little excited to see just what she might end up picking as she typed in her song.

When the music started, he had no idea just what she had chosen. It wasn't a song that he was familiar with, but Jenna looked like she knew what it was as she gave a hard roll of her eyes, a smile on her face.

"Guess what? Every since the world began, same plot, everyone's been dumping on their fellow man. Hounding people they feel better thannnn. I hope you're taking notes 'cause," Jeremy was impressed with her voice. She was good, better than he thought she would be, and the song seemed to suit her perfectly. "You feel everyone deserves a shot. Get real. Some of us have got it girl and some got squat. That's the truth, oh honey like it or not, I hate to break it to ya..."

By the time that she finished her song, everyone was cheering, and Jeremy was looking up the original song, wanting to add it to his playlist before they left.

As Chloe turned back to the group she narrowed her gaze at them. Searching for her victim while the room fell silent.

"You."

Micheal blinked, slowly getting to his feet as she marched back to her seat. Jeremy smiled at his friend, offering him encouragement while Christine, Jake and Brooke cheered for him. Unable to help himself he stole a glance at Rich, wondering just what his reaction would be. With Micheal's back to him and everyone's attention towards the front, no one saw the broken, desperate look that shattered over Rich's face.

Shit. He really hoped that Micheal wasn't going to pick something that would be turned on Rich. He had no idea if Rich would be able to handle it.

"Hey Jeremy, wanna join me?"

"Sure thing." Not wanting to leave his best pal alone Jeremy jumped to his feet and quickly joined his side, making sure to keep a fair distance away. He didn't want to push Rich to much.

He waited to see just what song Micheal would pick, playing with his mic for a little while until Micheal was finished. When the music started and he saw the first set of lines, he couldn't help but be amused and full of dread at the same time.

Rich was going to kill him.

Before he could back out, Micheal turned to him, a suave smirk on his face as he arched his brow.

"Sooo, do you wanna riiiiiiidde?"

"Micheal?" Jeremy shifted back a little as his best friend moved in closer, his eyes darting over to Rich for a split moment before they were forced back to the one in front of him. "What's gotten into you?"

"What?" Micheal questioned, dropping the seductive tone as he smiled at Jeremy. "Is it weird for a guy to want to go to the pinkberry with his best friend?"

"Well, no," Jeremy muttered, taking another step back his eyes once more drifting to the side, "but..."

"So I'll ask you again." Micheal grinned, his smile slipping into a smirk as he took another step forward. "Do you wanna ride? Do you wanna ride? Wanna go far?"

Jeremy, it is imperative that you decline.

Will's voice caught him off guard, pulling his attention away from Micheal long enough to see the glare settled over his boyfriend's face and giving Micheal the opportunity to slide in closer.

Micheal on the other hand continued on, having not heard Will through their bond. "Do you wanna get, do you wanna get, do you wanna get inside my mother's car?"

Tell him no.

Will snapped, Jeremy almost unable to take him seriously the way that he was fuming from the sidelines.

"Drivin' on home, don't you say no Jerry, can you be coerced?" Micheal sang, his arm wrapping around Jeremy's shoulders and successfully drawing his attention back to him. "Only this snatch, only one catch, we've gotta stop for frozen yogourt first."

"Do you wanna ride? Do you wanna ride?" They sang together, Jeremy throwing all cation out the window, unable but to want to push Will's buttons a little bit. "Do you wanna ride?"

"Wanna go far?" Micheal finished.

"Do you wanna get?" They joined in again, a shit eating grin pulling at his lips at the low growl that came from Will. "Do you wanna get? Do you wanna get,"

"Inside my mother's car?"

Jeremy.

It was both Rich and Will who snarled this time, the voice of the former sending a shiver down Jeremy's spine as he shot his eyes over to quickly take the two in.

Although there was a nasty snarl settled over Will's face, and an equally murderous one on Rich's, Will was still holding his arm out across Rich's chest, keeping him from jumping over to Jeremy and ripping out his throat.

Well, he supposed that he didn't have to worry about Rich killing him so long as Will was here. But Will might end up snapping his neck for this later.

"Driving on home," Micheal continued, his hand sliding from Jeremy's shoulder to his waist as Jeremy sung the next line with him, "don't you say no Jerry, can you be coerced?"

Jeremy don't!

Will was hissing as their hands met, intertwining their fingers.

"Only this snatch, only one catch." Micheal continued on, the smirk settled over his face showing just how much he was enjoying this himself. "We gotta stop for frozen yogourt first."

Don't.

Will seethed, his eyes narrowing over at Micheal, his lips pulled back to reveal his sharp teeth.

"Piiiiink berrrrrrry."

Jeremy snickered at the ridiculously deep voice that Micheal finished off with, giving a small nod of his head as he pulled his hand away.

"Okay. Let's go."

"Awesome!" Micheal cheered, throwing both hands in the air as the song finished up.

"Jeremy." Will's voice didn't sound at all amused, his face looking even less so when Jeremy turned to face him after setting the mic back.

Everyone else was clapping, cheering for the two as he made his way back to his seat while Micheal turned to face the rest of them a bright and genuine smile across his face as he did so.

Jeremy couldn't help his own smile as he stared at his friend, glad to see him finally relaxing at least a little bit. Micheal had been so tense over the last few days, and Jeremy couldn't really blame him for that, but it was still nice to see him letting loose a little bit.

Stealing a quick glance over at the two squips that they'd managed to piss off the most, Jeremy felt slightly guilty at the sight of Rich pushed deep into his seat, his eyes burning a hole in the ground and his lips pressed tightly together. He winched at the sight of his fingernails sinking deeply into the flesh of his arms. Maybe they had pushed a little to far.

When he turned his gaze to Will however the look that he got could have melted the skin right off of his bones.

Hey.

...

You mad?

The question made Will's scowl deepen.

Aw, come on Kitten. You know that you're the only one that I would go to get Pink Berry with.

You know that I do not eat yogourt Jeremy.

Will huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his attention back to the front.

But I would have no quarrels against licking your ice cream cone.

"Christine!"

Micheal's shout masked the sound of Jeremy's undignified squawk, quickly raising his hand to try and cover the sudden flush to his cheeks that the unexpected comment created.

Oh that little minx. He supposed that he could give Will that one. After all, he had gotten him to sing along to that song earlier. He was actually pretty impressed that Will had managed to finish singing the whole thing without killing any of them. And for the little song that he had sung with Micheal he supposed that Will had earned the right to tease him.

Christine sprang to her feet, cheering for joy as she grabbed a hold of Brooke's hand and dragged her along with her.

"Oh my god I know just the song that we should sing!" She cheered, still holding onto Brooke with one hand while she typed away at the screen with the other.

Micheal chuckled as he returned to his seat next to Jeremy, Jeremy smiling at his friend in turn as he shot one last glance over to the Squips on the other side. Rich was absolutely seething now, openly snarling at Jeremy when they made eye contact, but thankfully the grip that Will had on his shoulder was doing well to keep him in place.

He almost felt bad for the guy, and for playing along. Sure he'd been doing it to tease Will and not Rich, but he had a feeling that Micheal had done it with the intention to enrage Rich. And, no surprise, it seemed to have worked perfectly.

Christine's question drew his attention back to the front, his brow raising at the look of smug determination on Brooke's face as she nodded.

"I was born to play a whinny prince." Brooke grinned, holding her mic up as Jeremy shifted closer to Micheal.

"Do you know what song they picked?"

"No idea." Micheal admitted with a slight shrug.

Christine cleared her throat, holding up her mic as she got ready for the first lines.

"Did I abuse her or show her disdain? Why does she run from me?"

He couldn't help it. The overly deep voice that she used had him laughing out loud, along with a few of the others. The voice just didn't seem like her own, but the serious look over her face was so convincing he couldn't help the large smile on his own.

"If I should lose her how shall I regain the heart she has won from me?" Christine pressed on, her hand pressing to her heart as if it really had been scooped out. "Agony!" Her sudden shout made them all jump, and he found himself having to slap his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing to loudly. "Beyond power of speech. When the one thing you want, is the only thing out of your reach..."

It was Brooke's turn to get ready now, her face absolutely beaming as she got ready to sing her first line ever in a Broadway karaoke room.

"High in her tower she sits by the hour maintaining her hairrr." She belted out, her voice so much deeper than Christine's that Jeremy's mouth fell open in shock. "Light and becoming and frequently humming a lighthearted air; ah, ah, ah, ah, ah."

As they continued on they got more and more ridiculous, everyone in tears near the end, Brooke and Christine on their knees, looking off into no where over the hardships of their fake courting, panting slightly from all of the running around they had been doing the whole time.

Jeremy clapped for them, pulling everyone else into as the two girls helped each other to their feet, taking a bow before Brooke made her way back to her seat, her smile absolutely giddy as she plopped herself next to Chloe. His smile softened as he watched Chloe pull her in, a real smile on her face as she placed a sweet kiss against Brooke's cheek. They really were cute together and he was glad that they wouldn't be leaving Brooke completely alone. At least he knew that Chloe would be here to look out for her.

Christine in the mean time turned her attention to the crowd, tapping her finger against her lips before her eyes lit up as they fell on her target.

"Come on up here Jake."

Jake smiled back at her as he pushed himself up to his feet, gently taking the mic from her hands and giving her a quick kiss to the forehead before she moved to sit back down.

Jake fiddle through the song list, seeming to be thinking about what he should pick before he landed on something.

"Hey guys, can Rich and Will and Jenna come up here for a second?"

The squips all shared glances with each other before they shrugged their shoulders and stood. Once they made they way towards Jake they huddled around him, muttering lowly to each other before Jenna laugh.

"That's not a bad idea." She snickered, grabbing up one of the mics while Rich snatched two and passed one over to Will. "But we need one more person. Ohhh Brookeeee!" Jenna grinned, turning to the girl and waving her over. "Come here Sweetie."

Although Chloe sent Jenna a small glare, Brooke slowly got up and made her way over to the rest of the group. As Jenna whispered into her ear, Jeremy found his gaze shifting over to Chloe, arching his brow at the small scowl over her lips.

When Brooke burst out into laughter, he couldn't help wonder just what Jake had picked as she quickly covered her mouth and nodded her head, scooping up her own mic.

Jeremy arched a brow, trying to read just what had gone on from the look over Will's face, however he didn't get anything as Will blatantly ignored him.

Just so you know,

Will's voice startled him, making him snap up and catch the subtle glare that Will tossed him from over his shoulder.

This is payback.

Well, now he really wanted to know just what song Jake had picked.

He leaned forward in his seat as the song finally start, Will apparently being up first.

"Look at my ass, look at my thighs." Oh. Well. Okay than. If he insisted. "I'm catnip to the guys." Jeremy couldn't tare his eyes off of Will while he danced around, having to swallow to keep himself from drooling. "They chase my tail," Fuck, just great, that's all he needed to imagine right now was Will in fucking kitty ears and a tail. Like he wasn't already hard enough to watch, "they drool and pant. Wanna touch this- but they can't."

"NO!"

The collective yell of all the other squips made him jump, helping to tear his mind out of the gutter for a single moment before the smirk across Will's lips had him diving back in.

Seriously he was so going to get him back for this one. He didn't care that Jake picked the song, Will was all to happy to comply with it.

"All the boys wanna come and play. Snap my fingers and they obey." Will sang, and Jeremy only found it all to true. If Will wanted anything he'd happily do whatever it was he asked for. "Why do they follow me 'round all day?" Why wouldn't they would have been a better question. "Watch me while I walk away,"

"I bend," They all sang, and Jeremy suddenly found himself crossing one leg over the other, covering his flaming red face with his hand while his eyes stayed glued to the sight of Will bent over oh so perfectly. And shit, how had Jeremy never realized how flexible he was? Will's hands dragging down his thighs had Jeremy wishing they were his hands instead, but they kept going until they were laying palm flat on the ground and... "And snap!" As one they all snapped back, Will fanning at himself with one hand while he held the mic before his lips with the other, his eyes half lidded as they landed on Jeremy.

"Feel how hot it's gettin'."

That fucking little shit!

"Bend," fuck fuck fuck! "and snap!"

Will continued, turning to face the group fully now, his hand pushing his hair from his eyes, the bright baby blues burning across Jeremy's skin as the look seared into him. "And when you got them sweatin'."

"Spring the trap!" They all sang together. "They cheer and clap!"

"No tight end, can defend against the bennnd and snap!" Will sang, really getting into the song as Jeremy glared at him.

He better have fun teasing Jeremy now because he wasn't going to play nice the next time he got Will alone. He was going to leave him a panting, begging, moaning mess. He was going to absolutely wreck him. By the time that Jeremy was done with him, that infuriating little smug look on his face would be wiped clean off.

"Oh that's easy for you to say." Rich sighed, a small pout on his lips.

Honestly Jeremy was just happy for a break from the sex on legs that was Will.

"And you!" Brooke pipped in, looping her arm around his. "Boy if you wanna make the team, then fake some self-esteem!"

"The more you jump around and scream," Jenna tagged on, sliding up on his other side and resting her arm on his shoulder, "Then the sexier you seem."

"Please." Rich huffed, giving a hard roll of his eyes. "Sorry dudes, that ain't how I play. This wouldn't work if I tried all day," Rich sang, "I gotta go get my asthma spray. Watch me while I walk away." As he made to do just that Brooke tightened her hold on him, spinning him around until he was right back in the same place.

"No wait before you walk away. Just..."

"Bend," Jesus. Fucking. Christ. If he somehow made it through the whole song without jumping Will he was going to have to consider it a miracle. "And snap!"

This was going to be the longest three minutes of his life...

As the song came to a close he had no idea just how he had managed to get through the whole song, but somehow he felt like he'd just scrapped by. The applause from everyone was a little weaker than it had been the times before, Christine the only one able to cheer them on just as loudly as she had at the end of the previous songs while the rest of the seated group had to take a moment to collect themselves. Micheal shifting slightly in his seat, his face flaming red, and Chloe tightly crossing her legs as she crossed her arms over her chest, her cheeks flushed while her eyes zeroed in on Brooke like a hawk.

Jenna whipped out her phone the second that she sat down, snapping a quick picture of all of their flushed faces with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Well, that was fun." She snickered, the other squips chuckling along with her as they sat down. "Good pick Jake."

Ah, right. The one he was really going to have to whack upside the head was Jake wasn't it? He'd get him later.

Not sure just how much longer he'd been able to keep his cool for Jeremy got to his feet, making his way to the door, his face absolutely burning as he ignored their stares.

"I'm heading to the bathroom." He muttered, his ears turning red at the snicker that Rich let out.

"Gonna sing your own version of 'beat it' in the bathroom stall Jeremy?"

Unable to think of anything while his mind was so jumbled Jeremy just flipped him off as he walked through the door, their laughter following after him and only going silent the second that the door slipped shut. He walked down the hall a ways, slipping around the corner and into a little cove that he had never managed to find a reason for.

Dropping his head against the wall he tried to calm himself down, finding the task impossible as fresh imagines of Will bent over continued to pop up in his mind.

Damn that little...

William.

He didn't mean for it to come out as such a growl, but he was having a hard time controlling the urged to just march back in there and drag him out.

What is it Jeremy?

Will's voice sounded to light, to innocent, for the way that he'd just basically tortured Jeremy for the last three minutes.

Get over here.

But it would not be very polite to leave at this moment. Jenna has just started to pick her song and...

Don't tempted me to march back there and make you beg in front of everyone Kitten.

Oh, if Will thought he was going to be able to weasel his way out of this he was so wrong. Jeremy was going to have his revenge. Or at least part of it. The rest of it could come later.

As the seconds ticked by and he got no response he was left to wonder if Will was just ignoring him. If that was the case than he was just going to make his punishment so much...

Will popped around the corner, startling Jeremy for a moment as they just stood there and stared at each other for a long moment. Before he was even aware of what he was doing Jeremy snapped his hand out, wrapping his fingers around Will's wrist and yanking him into the small, dark space with him. Not allowing either of them a moment to talk he wasted no time and shoving Will up against the wall, quickly swallowing down his yelp as he sealed their lips together.

"Now what am I going to do with you?" He grumbled, pulling back only enough to cup either side of Will's face with his hands. "That little show you put on was just plain cruel Kitten."

"Consider it pay back for the song you sung with Micheal." Will shot back.

"You're still mad about that?" As he arched a brow Will narrowed his gaze, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Don't you think that it's worse to act like you're in a porn rather than just being sung to seductively?" He questioned, loving the sudden embarrassed flush that came to Will's cheeks. "Than again you looked like you were having so much fun." He purred, trailing his hands down Will's neck and chest, eventually stopping low on his hips. He could hear Will's breath hitch, could see the way that his eyes darkened. "And it made me wonder," he continued, slipping one of his hands down and wrapping it around Will's thigh, pulling it up to his hip. "just how flexible are you William?"

"Would you like to find out?" Although he was sure that Will had meant for the words to come out smoother, the dark blush that tainted the tips of his ears and the slight shake of his voice ruined the effect.

Smirking down at him, Jeremy tilted his head, just enough to brush his lips over the shell of Will's ear, the leg around his waist pulling him in closer almost instinctively.

"Are you making an offer to see just how many positions I can get you in?"

Will's breath hitched his hands coming up to claw at his chest while Jeremy's free hand dragged his nails up his spine.

"Jeremy I..."

But whatever Will was going to say next was drowned out by a scream that tore through the hall. One that was all to familiar.

Christine.

Jeremy froze, his mind going blank in the panic that the sound tore into him. His hold on Will tightened, not wanting to let him go. Knowing just where he would run if he did. It didn't matter though. It didn't matter about the grip that he had on Will or how far away they were, Will disappeared from his arms in a flash of light.

One moment he was there, and the next Jeremy was tumbling into the wall, his squip nowhere to be seen.

But Jeremy knew just where he was going.

Without giving it a second thought he turned back and sprinted towards the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: So, the songs used. Will & Jeremy: The Internet is for Porn (Avenue Q), Chloe: According to Chris (Carrie the Musical), Micheal & Jeremy: Do you wanna Ride? (Boyf riends style by Ricky youtube), Christine and Brooke: Agony (Into the Woods), Squip's song: Bend and Snap (Legally Blond). So those were all the songs used. :) I actually sorted through a lot of different ones before picking these guys, but I think they all worked out well. :) Hope you guys enjoyed it! :D By the way sorry about updating early, I'm going to be busy all day Tuesday so I figured I'd give it to you sooner rather than later. :)


	44. Chapter 44

Will Will snarled the second that he was back in the room, appearing out of nowhere in a flash of light.

As he dropped from the ceiling where he'd appeared, his eyes managed to scan the chaos below him before his knees slammed into the back of one of the attackers.

The man's knees buckled underneath him and Will brought his hands to grip either side of his head. With a violent twist, a sickening- CRACK!- filled the air, the Squip falling to the rest of the way to the ground lifelessly.

Seeing his friends before him and forcing himself to ignore the looks of horror and shock flashing over their faces, and the blood pouring down Christine's arm as she cradled it against her chest, he quickly spun his back on them to face the doorway, to face the rest of the Squips that were pilling in.

There had been six of them. With the one, he had taken out that left five. But only Jennifer really knew how to fight against the others, Richard and Jacob had been out of the game for far too long and they had no idea how to fight with a host without using too much energy and killing them. Admittedly it was still something that Will was also struggling with. Sure he had a better grasp on it than the others, but there was no way that he could fight this many Squips without calling on a massive amount of energy, and Jeremy wasn't at the level to be able to handle that yet. He wouldn't be for months. Then there was Micheal, Christine, Chloe and Brooke, who were human, and he'd done his research. None of them had any form of fight training, and surprisingly, he hadn't managed to find much of anything of Chloe online.

So while his group might have outnumbered the ones before them, they severely lacked in experiences.

The worst of it though was the room they'd been cornered in. He growled lowly to himself at the poor planning of the whole situation. At the fact that he had allowed himself to be distracted enough for this to have happened. He'd put far to much trust in Jennifer's ability to track them. But he should have known that they weren't stupid enough to allow for such a weakness. They might as well have been fish in a barrel, and Will was only all too glad for the fact that Jeremy wasn't trapped in the room with them.

"W-who are you people? What do you want?"

Although Will wanted to slam his head off the nearest wall at Brooke's question, he knew that she had a right to be confused. After all, as far as she was concerned these people had just shown up out of nowhere, she had no idea just what they really were.

The others ignored her though, their eyes drifting to their fallen member with little care, Will holding his hands out to his sides, bright blue sparks dancing from his fingertips as Jennifer joined his side, Richard and Jacob coming up on the other.

Whoever he'd just killed, they obviously weren't going to miss him much.

"Well, I must say that it looks like I've hit the jackpot." The redhead in front said, her smile stretching over her blood red painted lips. "We came for one and found four." She grinned, her eyes falling on Jennifer, her smirk pulling her lips thin. "Jenna darling, it's good to see you."

Jennifer stiffened beside him, and Will shifted his body until he was partially in front of her. Hannigan, as he was now recognizing her face, turned a sharp glare to him, no doubt most of her rage coming from the fact that the only reason she hadn't managed to steal Jennifer's ability was because of him.

She had been one of the many older Squips that had made his life such a living hell when he was younger and apparently, still managed to do so now. The scar across his stomach from when she had tried to eviscerate him throbbed with a dull phantom pain in her presence. He wondered if the scar across her chest from when he'd tried to carve her heart out felt the same at the sight of him.

He wasn't sure what to do, not when the rest of the group was here, not when it would only be all too easy to end them all right now. He couldn't even give them a place to hide. He was going to have to keep their attention on him.

"I am surprised that it took you so long to find me," Will said, easing up his stance, his expression flattening to one of boredom, trying to keep all of their attention on him and away from the others, "obviously I overestimated your intelligence. An infant could have found me much quicker than the lot of you together."

"I'd watch that mouth of yours Brat." The voice of the man standing just outside the door made Will pause, his stomach turned and his blood boil as his eyes narrowed in on the bulky man as he rounded the corner, a smirk crawling over his lips. "Or I'll put it to good use."

Will snarled back at him, flashing his teeth to remind the guy just how sharp his fangs were, about just what would happen if he tried to force anything into Will's mouth. Without his permission his eyes darted down to the man's large hands, a small part of him finding satisfaction in the fact that the sever burns still scarred the skin. A permanent reminder of the time he'd tried to have his way with Will when he was little.

He should have killed the guy then.

"Try it Sykes." Will snapped, his eyes glowing in warning. "Because, if I remember correctly, it did not work out so well for you last time."

Sykes hands twitched, his fingers curling inwards as if they could still feel the burn of the power Will had set them on fire with, as if he could still remember his own screams when they had started to blister black under Will's touch, his smirk forming into a tight scowl.

"Reyes wants you alive Will, not in one piece." His attention was pulled to another Squip, this one standing by Hannigan, a smile settled over his handsome features, his hands resting in his pockets. Ugh. Roland. "And he doesn't care about your friends at all. God knows it would be easier to kill the lot of them rather than drag them back with you."

"Over my dead body." Will hissed.

He supposed they really only had one of two options.

Run.

Or fight.

Fighting was just going to get them killed.

Before the rest of them could blink Will snapped his hand out, sending a powerful blast of energy at the group of them.

He knew that it wasn't going to be enough to stun them for more than a few seconds, so he made them count.

Turning around to face the rest of the group once again he shot his power at a small, unoccupied space, blowing the wall out and revealing the alley just beyond.

"Richard, Jacob, Jennifer, get them out and keep them safe!" He snapped, wasting no time before he was turning back, throwing out another blast of power to intercept with a shot that had been heading towards the others, slamming it into the side wall.

"But Will..!"

"Now!"

He didn't turn back to see if they had followed his orders, instead charging forward, throwing up another wave of dark blue energy that poured out of him like a wave.

Two of them blocked it, but that was fine, it left them open for a following attack, Will forming the power around his hands into two wide, but deadly sharp blades that came to a tip just a few inches past his fingers.

As Hannigan's arms remained up, redirecting his first shot upwards, he slashed his blades down, revelling in the sharp cry she gave out as they dragged through her skin.

"You little fucker!" She snapped, jerking back, a gush of blood flowing over her fingers as she tightly clutched at the wound.

He threw himself back before Roland could land a hit on him, arching into a backhand spring that brought him to the other side of the room again, away from them. There wasn't much time for him to rest though, his feet barely touching the ground before he rolled to the side, and under the tall table, just narrowly missing a shot from the forth and fifth Squips. He scowled at Ron and John, two Squips that were so similar in appearance that many of them had taken to calling them the twins, as they glared back at him.

"Stopping moving." Ron snapped.

"You're just wasting your breath." John put in.

He'd always hated those two.

There wasn't much room for him to move in, and not being able to rely on his teleportation was a problem he didn't realize he had until he was dashing backwards on his hands and knees away from another shot.

When his feet hit the bottom of one of the couches he quickly scrambled onto it, just glad to be out from underneath the table again. They'd all filed into the room now, their forms taking up most of the space, the bulky twins squeezing in next to each other as he tried to think of what to do next. There was no way he could just attack them one at a time, not when they were that close and they were all against him, and every single one of them didn't even have to get close, not with the amount of power that they could toss his way.

The only way that Will saw it was that he was royally fucked.

But he pushed that thought to the side, forcing his mind to try and think of something new. After all, he didn't need to win against them, he just needed to keep them distracted long enough for the others to get away. To give them at least a little bit of a head start.

"Here kitty, kitty." John grinned, inching closer, a large smirk settled over his face as Will scowled at him.

Honestly, only Jeremy was allowed to call him names like that.

And seriously, what was the deal about comparing him to a cat anyways?

Maybe it was his temperament.

Oh well, it didn't matter.

He just managed to duck out of another shot, leaping over the table and using the wall to kick his feet off of in order to propel himself to his next target, the ground at their feet.

No one was expecting that, each of them jumping back as he unleashed another blast of power, the ground taring apart under his touch. With them all working to regain their footing he struck, aiming for the closest one first, Roland.

Roland gave out a loud shout as Will brought his blades back, barely managing to move out of the way quick enough to avoid the hit. Will felt annoyance fill him when his attack came up short, not slicing the leg clean off as he had intended but just cutting deeply into the flesh of his calf instead.

There was no time to morn the wasted move however, his body jerking out of the way quicker than his mind could pick up the energy turned sword that landed where he'd just been.

He forced himself back to a wall again, knowing it was better not to stand out in the open and leave his back exposed.

Shit. This was not going well.

He needed more space. He needed to be able to separate them, to keep them from defending each other when he was trying to attack.

He dropped to the couch just managing to avoid two other hits, kicking his legs out and slamming them into the table before him. The pause that it gave him as they turned their power to incinerating the table instead of him gave him another opening.

This time he shot out for Ron, his fist pulled back, ready to ram the blade into the man's face, until a sudden blast knocked the air from his lungs and slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack it.

He stumbled, nearly falling to his knees, his one hand moving to the wound at his side and wincing at the blood there. He tried to suck down air, but it was useless, the hit leaving his body unable to choke down the much needed oxygen no matter how badly he wanted to- needed to- breath.

Before he could get his wits back about him a large paw like hand, no doubt belonging to one of the meaty twins, clamped down on the back of his neck, his body having all of two second to notice it before the second hand slammed up, hooking right into his diaphragm and lifting him off his feet.

His eyes blew wide, his body dropping to the ground the second they pulled away as he struggled, fighting against the urge to puke his guts out. But they weren't done just yet, his arm barely having enough time to come up by his head and shield it from the sudden kick. It slammed the side of his face back into the wall with a sickening crack, his vision blacking out and white exploding behind his eyelids, the pain indescribable and raw as it pulsed through him.

He choked, his hands shooting up to try and pry the fabric away from his throat when one of them grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt, hoisting him to his feet and all to easily chucking him over their shoulder.

His back slammed into the opposite wall, hanging there for a moment as the momentum caught up with him before he dropped down, barely having enough time or motor control to tuck his chin in and curl his body enough for his shoulders to impact with the seats. The landing sent him rolling, crashing to the ground with no grace and leaving him on his back, his vision swimming in a bright hue of violent colours all slamming into one another.

His chest heaved, his body twitching at the pain that flared across his skin, at the bones that had broken and were screaming in protest of any movement. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, dampness at the corners as he forced himself to roll over, fighting back against them as he placed his palm to the ground and tired to push himself up.

He gasped when another hand, different from the ones before, wrapped around his throat from the front, wheezing out pathetically when he was forcefully turned over, his ribs crying out in agony when his back collided with the hard floor once more.

The hand didn't leave this time though, holding him there as he Sykes' face filled his vision.

"This is much easier than I'd though it be." He grumbled, his voice sounding highly unimpressed as Will took the pause from the onslaught to try and steal as much air as he could passed his restricted windpipe. "What's the matter Brat? Losing your touch?"

"Oh, I think it's much more interesting than that." Roland grinned, crouching down by them both as his fingers brushed over the curve of Will's neck, over the mark that he knew was left their by Jeremy. "I think little William here has found a host."

"Really?" Hannigan added on, standing over the top of his head as he snarled at her weakly. "Guess it's a good thing we got a hold of him now than."

"I was wondering why he wasn't teleporting." Ron muttered, Will hearing his voice close even if he couldn't see him.

"It must still be new." John agreed, Will finally bringing his hands up to try and claw the one away from him.

"What a piss off." Bill grumbled, grabbing a hold of one of Will's hands tightly and bringing it to his lips, biting into the flesh hard enough to draw blood. Will clenched his teeth to keep himself from screaming. "I wanted to be the one to tare into him first."

Although the words were disturbing enough to make every cell in his body recoil from the one above him Will had to find a sick sort of twisted humour in it. Sykes was a few years to late to be Will's first. Not even Jeremy got that title.

"You can have all the fun you want with him on our way back to Reyes." Roland muttered, doing nothing to hide his own disgust at the man next to him. "Just put him under and let's get out of here before the police show up."

The words left Will cold, the long, thin device that Sykes pulled out of his pocket making his heart pound and his mouth go dry.

They were going to shut him down. He was going to be completely useless. He wouldn't be woken up again until he was at Reyes feet.

"It's no fun fucking a corpse." Sykes continued, playing with the device in his hand until a sharp, needle like point shot out from one end. "But maybe that host of his will keep me entertained enough."

Will's mind roared.

With energy that he didn't have, he shot up, his hands wrapping around Sykes' neck and knocking the man back slamming him into the ground, his own body screaming out in protest to every movement. Ignoring it Will lifted him up a few inches from the floor and hurled him back down, again and again, over and over.

The idea of this guy touch Jeremy. Of him hurting him like that. Of him going anywhere near him left Will seeing red. Nothing but pure rage swirling through him as he dug his fingers into the man's face, taring at his flesh, trying to crack the bones underneath with his hands alone.

But than there was two pairs of hands at his shoulders. Large meaty ones that belonged to the twins, the strongest of their group, yanking him back and slamming him back into the floor, one hand at each shoulder, one at each wrist and a knee pressed to his chest, forcing him to fight to breath. Then his legs were pinned down, Roland and Hannigan no doubt, a hand wrapped around his thigh, the other just above his ankle on each leg, rendering him useless no matter how hard he struggled.

There was to many of them. There was to many and he didn't have enough power and he was slowly losing his reasoning, finding it harder and harder to keep his cool as his mind swirled in a chaotic whirlwind of rage and terror and pain.

His mind couldn't stop going back to Jeremy, to his friends, to the others that had been with them, and than back to Jeremy. Once they took care of him, he only knew to well what they were planning on doing to the others. They wouldn't be able to get away. They wouldn't be able to defend themselves. These guys would hunt them all down like dogs. And all because Will hadn't given them enough time, because he wasn't strong enough to keep them safe.

"Say goodnight brat." Sykes snarled, blood dripping down his face from where Will had torn into him.

Will screamed out bloody murder, thrashing as much as he could with all the hands holding him down. He cursed them out with every vial word that he knew, jerking his head this way and that, trying to sink his teeth into anyone that was foolish enough to have their limbs hanging to close to his mouth. But it was no use, their was to many hands and they were to strong and their hold was to tight. It didn't matter how much he fought, Sykes just kept coming closer and closer, the smile over his face positively gleeful as he brought the device into Will's line of sight.

"If your host is anything like you, I'm going to have a lot of fun with them."

His chest heaved, his teeth gritted together so tightly his jaw ached.

This was it. He had failed. He was fucked. They were all fucked and they were done and they would never be able to track the others down and end it. It was over.

A soft tutting filled the room, Will's breath catching in his throat as everyone else froze.

"Well, well, well. Five against one. That hardly seems fair."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: And guess who made an entrance!? :D You'll find out later. :) Next chapter, find out what happened to Jeremy and the rest of them! :D
> 
> Characters used: Hannigan (Annie)
> 
> Roland (Strange Magic) ((Technically not a musical but hey...))
> 
> Sykes (Oliver!) ((Seriously this guy scared the shit out of me when I was little))
> 
> John & Ron (Tangled: Disney)


	45. Chapter 45

Jeremy was seething.

And he was insanely worried.

Every fibre of his being wanted to be out there. Wanted to be back at that stupid karaoke place. Wanted to be back with Will. To make sure that he was alright, to make sure that he'd made it out okay. But he hadn't even made it down the hall before that- guy, had shown up.

It still freaked him out how he just seemed to come out of nowhere, how he just seemed to be morphed out of shadows and darkness. He knew who it was the second his eyes landed on the dark clad Squip. Will mirrored him in so many ways that it was almost freaky, right down to their shared fondness of dark clothing. Jeremy hated to even so much as think it, but the guy was hot too, and it had been something that had caught him off guard with the knowledge that this was the JD guy they were all afraid of.

He knew that Will was his son, and that Will was a very, very nice looking guy- truly one of the hottest people Jeremy had ever known actually, and yes, movie stars included- but... From the way they had spoken about JD, from what he'd heard and seen him do to Will... In his mind he had created the guy to look like a monster. Horns and claws and everything. Instead he'd been confronted with what appeared to be an older version of Will that made him think, for a split moment, that maybe Will had simply altered his appearance.

It was the look in his eyes that had made Jeremy pause.

They'd been so cold.

When he finally realized that it was JD, that it was the enemy, his path had already been blocked.

He'd tried to get around him. Had tried to fight the guy. He'd been shocked when the Squip had said that he wasn't there to cause trouble, that he was there to help, but even so he hadn't believed him. It was when he'd almost managed to slip around him that he'd felt the hand on the back of his neck that he'd felt a strange burning jolt through him, his entire body freezing up before he'd lost all motor control of himself.

The next thing he knew he was sitting in someone's living room, frozen in place on their couch, unable to move so much as an inch.

He didn't have to wait long until the rest of the group joined him. He could hear Rich basically the moment that he walked the complex.

"Seriously guys let me go!"

If he could have, Jeremy would have jumped when the door was thrown open, Christine quickly scrambling into the room, clutching her arm to her chest, blood staining the front of her shirt and seeping through the cracks of her fingers. Jake was just two steps behind her, struggling to keep Rich in his hold. Micheal trailed in not far behind, Chloe and Brooke right on his heels.

His eyes went wide at the sight of his friends, his heart nearly bursting to see that they were all alright, other than the nasty gasp down Christine's arm, and than sinking the second that he noticed that Will was missing.

"We have to get back and help!" Rich snapped, kicking his feet out, his arms completely useless with the way that Jake was keeping them pinned to his side. "Will needs us! We have to..!"

"Shut up."

The voice sent a start down Jeremy's spine, his gaze narrowing as much as possible as the rest of the group filed in, as the dark clad Squip brought up the rear, closing the door behind himself. Locking them all in.

"No one's going anywhere."

Rich snarled, pausing for a moment from his wild swing of flying limbs to hang uselessly from Jake's arms, his feet hovering at least a foot or more from the floor. Micheal didn't say anything, his eyes widening at the sight of Jeremy. He quickly broke off from the rest of the group to join his side, sitting down next to him as Jenna placed herself next to the door, keeping her back against the wall and her eyes on the one before her. Brooke and Chloe seemed oddly okay, if not a little shaken, but honestly, Jeremy expected them to be a whole lot worse.

Christine let out a mall whimper, drawing the attention of the two blonds beside her.

"Here. Let us help." Brooke said gently, softly resting the tips of her fingers against Christine's elbow and guiding her deeper into the house, Chloe following after them.

"We have to get out there and help him JD." Rich snapped, "Will just got a host, he can't teleport constantly like he use to, he'll be a sitting duck for those guys."

"And just how are you going to help?" JD questioned, arching a brow as he scoffed at the smallest member of their group. "You're barely running half a tank as it is. The best you'll do is distract him."

Although Jeremy couldn't help but disagree, his mind wandered back to what Rich had said. He knew that Will could teleport, he remembered it being one of the first things that Micheal had said he did when they'd met him and Jeremy had passed out. He'd also seen it first hand himself just a short while ago when Will had disappeared from his grasp at the sound of their friends in trouble. But... he'd never really thought that it would be his main source of defence or his best form of attack.

Will had been training with them sure, but Jeremy didn't recall a time when he'd practice his use of teleports. Just how much energy did that take? Did Jeremy have enough to support the amount that he needed? What if Will was left defenceless because he didn't want to run the risk of hurting Jeremy? Shit. Just how long could Will last without it?

"They'll kill Will if we don't help!"

The silence that fell over the room was heavy. Jeremy's heart stopped, his minding screaming at his body to do something, to move, to get up and find Will, to help him. But he couldn't. He couldn't so much as turn his head to fully glare at the man who had started to laugh.

"That's fine by me."

Jeremy would have joined Rich in the roar he let loose if he could have, but surprisingly the one who stood up was Micheal.

"Will needs help." Micheal didn't bulk under the glare that was turned to him, he met it straight on. "There are five of them," Oh fuck. Five? How the hell was Will supposed to fight five of them!? "and there's no places to take cover in that room." Micheal stated out, crossing his arms over his chest, not so much as flinching when JD swooped close to him.

From the corner of his eye Jeremy could see the three girls reenter the room. Christine's arm done up expertly in some fresh looking bandages while they spread around the area.

"And what? You think a bunch of inexperienced children are going to be able to..?"

"Not us." Micheal interrupted, ignoring the look of rage that flashed over the guy's face at the bland disrespect. "You."

"What?" From the insulted hiss of his tone Jeremy could tell that what Micheal had just suggested was no doubt the worst thing that anyone had ever mentioned to the guy. "Why on earth would I..?"

"Because Will is your son, and he's our friend. We don't have the proper training to take on a group that size or that experienced, but you could." Micheal wasn't backing down from his request, Christine even joining his side to face off against the Squip.

"Will's your son?"

It was Brooke's voice floating up from the corner of the room that tore JD's attention away from strangling the two in front of him. It was Brooke who seemed to make him wince as her big blue eyes zeroed in on him.

"I have a brother?"

"What the fuck?"

If Jeremy could have, he would have muttered that exact statement himself. Instead Jenna finally pushed herself away from the wall, marching up to the two girls with a scowl on her face.

"You're JD's kid?"

Brooke's brows drew together as she turned to face her friend, giving a small nod of her head as Chloe slid up to her side, the taller of the two keeping an eye on the third.

"So what? Have you been spying on us this whole time?" Jenna snapped, "have you been reporting back to dear old Dad about everything that we've been doing? Is that the real reason that you started to talk to Jeremy? Is that why you became friends with Christine?"

"What? No Jenna-!"

"Take another step Rollen," JD snarled, his voice bringing her to an abrupt halt, "and that will be your last."

"Jason no!" Brooke exclaimed, making a move to stop him before he turned on her.

"I've told you, it's Dad." He growled, only coxing a glare out of the little blond.

"And I've told you no." She snapped. Now that Jeremy was thinking about it, he'd never seen her angry before. Turning away from her father Brooke turned pleading eyes back to Jenna, taking a step towards her only for Jenna to move back. "Jenna..." she paused, only than seeming to realize that there were more people in the room, more shocked faces and more questions running through everyone's mind rather than just Jenna's.

Letting out a long sigh she took a step back, facing the room as a whole but choosing to keep her gaze on the ground, not able to face any one person. Chloe on the other hand didn't seem to have a problem with meeting them all stare for stare, as if threatening anyone to interrupt.

"My mom's Heather Sawyer." She said, ignoring JD's muttering of 'Veronica' under his breath, "and I just found out about two years ago that Jason is technically my biological father."

Although JD didn't look to thrilled about her lack of excitement to be related to him in any way, Jeremy couldn't say that he blamed her in the least. He wouldn't want to have that guy as a dad either, and his own father absolutely refused to wear pants most days, so that was saying something.

"But that's not as important right now." Brooke muttered, finally bringing her eyes up to the rest of the group. "Who were those people? Why are they after you guys?"

Well, he supposed that if Brooke was technically a half Squip, she deserved to know that answer to that question. And Jeremy happily would have told her too, if only to get things moving again so that they could help Will, but he still couldn't move, still couldn't utter one word.

"That would be Will's own fault." JD snapped before anyone else could jump in.

"That's a lie!" Rich snapped, his cry going completely ignored as Jason continued.

"He killed someone and now their group is getting their revenge. Simple as that. It was his mistake. Let him pay for it."

"They saw us there too JD." It was Jake who spoke up this time, drawing peoples attention to him as Rich stopped freaking out long enough to allow him to speak. "They saw Brooke. They'll come back for us, and for your daughter."

JD snarled at him, but didn't get to anything beyond that as Brooke made her way over to Jake.

"Did Will really kill someone?" She questioned, her face a little green at the very thought.

Jake just stared back at her blankly, finally dropping Rich from his grip before shoving him over to Micheal. Although Rich let out a squawk of rage, it was quickly cut short when Micheal pulled him in, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Jake didn't pay either of them any attention, his focus fully on Brooke as she waited for her answer.

"We all have." He finally said, the colour draining from her face. "It's part of being a Squip. You're lucky that you've never had to make the choice to kill or be killed."

"These Squips aren't good Squips Brooke." Christine said, "they're going to hunt us all down eventually, they want everyone's special abilities and they will kill them to get it. Will was just trying to help." She shifted her gaze over to JD, her lips pressing tightly at the glare he shot back at her. "And now he needs our help."

"If you think for one moment that I..."

"Bring him back safe."

Brooke's words cut him off, snapping his attention back to her so quickly that Jeremy wondered if he'd given himself whiplash.

"I'd rather let him rot." He snarled, his eyes glowing as she snapped back at him.

"Don't let him die." She growled, "and don't kill him either. If you can help, do it."

He'd never seen Brooke like this before, and honestly, he was a little worried about her safety. From what he'd heard, JD was not someone to be ordered around. Even everyone else in the room looked as if they were holding their breath, as if they were waiting for him to lash out and attack.

But once again Brooke surprised him, her face softening and her voice weak as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"Please, Jason. Please make sure that he's okay."

JD snarled, but instead of marching towards her he turned on his heels and made his way to the door.

"Everyone stay here!" He snapped as he ripped it open. "I'll be right back."

Jeremy was equally glad and horrified at the idea of that guy helping out. No one else seemed to know how to feel either as they moved towards the window, watching him until he disappeared around the corner. Only when he was gone did they slowly pile back into the room, Micheal taking his seat next to Jeremy again, this time cradling a seething Rich in his hold.

"If that guy hurts one hair on Will's head..."

"Hush Rich." Micheal sighed, finally turning his attention to Jeremy. "Your awfully quiet." His statement caught everyone else attention.

Just needing something to take their minds off of everything that had just happened, they all seemed to happy to turn their eyes to their friend, Jeremy wanting to scowl at the attention on him but still unable to do much other than look straight ahead.

"Jeremy?" Micheal muttered again, waving a hand in front of his best friends face as Jenna pinched at the bridge of her nose, her eyes screwing shut as she did so.

"Don't bother Micheal, he can't move." She muttered, Brooke tossing her a questioning look.

"He looks fine..." She mumbled, trailing off as she squinted her gaze at Jeremy.

"Ya well, looks can be deceiving." Jenna snapped back, turning her back on the group and moving over to the window once more. "He'll be fine once JD gets back."

Christine shot a look around the group as they all broke off, sitting herself on Jeremy's other side and snuggling up to him as Jake took a seat on the arm of the couch next to her. Although he couldn't say anything he was thankful for the comforting touch as she rested her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his and squeezing his hand.

"Don't worry Jeremy, Will's going to be okay."

If he could have, Jeremy would have thanked her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Alrighty, :) So guys, just two more chapter and than this book is finally finished! :D I only have chapter 1 for book two done but I'm going to try and keep up the Tuesday updates! :D By the by, book two is titled 'I Just Wanna Survive'. :) I thought that it suited it pretty well. :)


	46. Chapter 46

Will never thought in all of his life, that he would ever be thankful for Jason Dean to intervene in his affairs.

As it stood now however he could have cried at the relief that flooded through him as he managed to turn his head just enough to watch the dark clad Squip step over the crumbled pieces of wall and into the room.

"Jason..."

"JD if you please." He drawled, interrupting Roland as he came to stand beside them, towering over them all from where they were crouched on the floor. His eyes were half lidded in boredom, looking over Will from head to toe for a moment before moving his gaze up to lock with the younger male's mirroring blue orbs. "You look like shit."

Will gave a small snarl at that, unable to find the energy to do anything more.

"Is there something that we can help you with?" Sykes growled, his annoyance at being interrupted showing clear across his face, the device in his hand still far to close for Will to ever call comfortable. "We don't want any trouble. We're just here for this brat."

"And the others?" Jason pipped in, arching his brows up as he made a show of clasping his hands behind his back. Will wasn't stupid enough to miss what he was really doing.

"We'll collect them later." Hannigan assured. "Don't worry about it."

"Ah," Jason sighed, giving a small shake of his head.

Before Roland or John could move, his hands whipped back around, filled with a blinding source of energy now as he clamped them down on their shoulders.

They evaporated instantly.

"you see," Jason continued, the others still to stun to move, frozen like prey before their predator, "that's a problem for me."

Without any amount of effort on his part, Jason, almost carelessly, waved his hand, the power that surged forth blasting the last remaining three into nothing more than ash, not even leaving their code behind to be collected.

Will couldn't help but be awe struck at the display of raw energy as Jason crouched down next to him.

Sure he knew that Jason's ability was to amplify any power he absorbed ten fold, but fuck. He'd never seen it in person before.

That was the power a host gave. The evidence of what they would be able to do if they trained enough, if they could all make their hosts strong enough to handle it. It would just be getting to that point that would take time. Time that they might not have.

When he'd been younger he'd always wondered why it was that the researcher wanted them to be weaker, why they wanted them to rely more strongly on human hosts as time went by. Than he'd seen what Jason could do. What he was capable of at full strength. How long he was able to keep going without needed to recharge. How much damage he could conflict before he was at his bare minimum again.

He couldn't imagine just what would have happened if they had given them all that power. If they were all just running around wild with no filter or fail safes.

"Hey." Will winced at the finger that poked at his head, the large bump from when he'd slammed it into a wall singing out in pain that he tried to choke down. "How bad are you?"

It took him a moment to try and figure out what Jason was talking about, what he was trying to say as he played the words over in his mind. Once he figured it out however he knew that he didn't have an answer. So instead he tried to lift himself up onto his elbows, hoping that maybe he could feel it out, but even that seemed to be to much, his ribs and side and head all screaming out at once and pulling him back to the ground.

"Hm, that bad huh?"

Before Will could protest Jason curled his fist up in the ripped material of his shirt, yanking him up slightly and ignoring his scream of pain as he did so. His yell was quickly silenced however when a mouth was placed over his, and for a second his body tensed. He didn't have enough energy to steal, and if Jason stole what little he had left than Jeremy would...

But before he could wrap his mind around fighting back, the air was knocked out of him at the quick flow of energy into him.

His body buzzed with it. His broken bones and ripped muscles and torn flesh eating it up greedily, using it to repair his body rapidly, just about overwhelming him at the fire that spread along his veins.

The power that poured into him pushed at his own, swirling together until they were mixed, until he couldn't tell his own from Jason's. His body tried to curl closer to it, to steal more of it, to tare it from its own source and claim it as his own. A low growl was the only warning he received before he was shoved back, the connection broken as Jason glared at him.

"Greedy little shit." He hissed, both of them panting as Will slowly sat himself up.

They were both left shaking. Will with the amount of adrenaline and power now coursing through his veins and the dizziness of the quick healing process, and Jason with the amount of energy he'd given to make it happen.

When the older of the two decided that he had given them enough time he gave a small shake of his head.

"Okay, come on." Jason muttered, reaching out and yanking Will up along with him by the back of his shirt. "We can't stick around here."

Will stumbled slightly, his legs still shaky as they stepped on the rocky pieces of debris, tripping over his own feet and running into Jason's back when a chunk of brick slid underneath his foot.

Jason growled, obviously annoyed at him as he reached out and grabbed a hold of Will's shirt again, yanking him to his side as if he would the scruff of a cat's neck.

"Pathetic." He hissed, to no one in particular as he continued marching them forward, basically dragging Will down the alley and to the mouth of an open street beyond as police sirens blared in the distance.

The word hurt though, cutting like a knife through Will's newly healed skin while he tried to push it to the side. It didn't matter. He had far more important things to think about right now.

"Where is Jeremy?"

Jason gave a roll of his eyes so hard that it looked physically painful, the corner of his lips pulling up to flash a pair of sharp teeth as he shoved Will forward.

"Your stupid boytoy apparently has a death wish." Jason grumbled. "He wouldn't stop trying to get back to you so I had to tear into his nervous system and force him to listen. He's at the same place with the others."

Although the idea of Jason violating Jeremy like that made his blood boil, he also couldn't help but be thankful for the fact that he had managed to get them all away, get them all to safety.

In the same breath however...

"Why?"

Will brought himself to a stop, refusing to move any further, to follow wherever he was being lead. Not until he had his answer.

Jason didn't seem to notice, not for a few more steps, and once he had he turned back to Will with a scowl.

"What?"

"Why?" Will asked again, his eyes narrowing as he watched Jason's orbs slowly slip back into the preferred nearly black colour, the adrenaline no longer coursing through him. "You have wanted me dead for years," there was no point in sugar coating it, "why not let them just take me away?"

"Did it ever occur to you," Jason growled, marching back up to him, Will refusing to back down a step no matter how close he got, "that maybe this is about more than you?"

"You do not care about humans Jason." Will muttered, having to tilted his head back to retain eye contact with the one who towered over him. "Nor do you care about the other Squips that were with me."

"You have no idea what I do and don't care about." Jason snapped, jabbing a finger hard into Will's chest. "But trust me, if you hadn't been stupid enough to be caught with the others, I would have let them have their fun with you."

Will scowled at that, but before he could continue to press the other, Jason took a hold of him once more and dragged him forward again.

"Stop stopping. We don't have time to be hanging around here."

"Stop manhandling me." Will snapped back, tearing Jason's hand away, flattening out the puckered material in vain.

He scowled at the view of his ruined shirt, sighing at the sight of the missing buttons and the torn fabric. He'd really liked this shirt, but he supposed if it was the only thing that he lost after tonight he couldn't complain to much about it.

"Where are we going?" He muttered once he believed that they'd walked in silence for long enough.

At the low growl that Jason gave out he gave back an annoyed hiss of his own, both of them snapping a glare to the other as they continued to walk.

"I assume that you did not bring them back to their homes." Will said, "and I highly doubt that your room at the Noon Till Night Inn can hold a group that size. Not to mention the fact that two of them saw everything and now know about Squips."

"Yeah well don't worry about th- wait a second." Will jumped when Jason turned on him, having no time to stop himself from running into the guy's arm when it shot out to block his path. "You know where I've been staying?"

Oh... Whoops.

Granted, letting Jason know that they had been spying on him was incredibly stupid, but with everything that had happened to him tonight he wasn't to interested in wasting his energy by fabricating some type of lie. So instead he met Jason's glare head on, his body carefully still otherwise.

"Considering the fact that you just about killed me when you got here I think that it seems fair that I was concerned about your movements."

There was no way that he was going to tell Jason that it had actually been Rich's plan to spy on him when Will had been out cold recharging, or that Jenna had anything to do with it. Will for the most part could deal with the beatings from the older Squip, but he couldn't handle the thought of the others suffering through it.

Jason's gaze narrowed, the dark orbs just about swallowing Will whole as he refused to back down. As time stretched out Jason gave a hard sigh, tightly turning his back on Will and marching away.

"'Don't kill him', 'bring him back safe', 'please make sure he's okay'." The whiny, high pitched voice Jason snapped into the open air with made Will arch a brow, but seeing as he wasn't turning back he was left with no choice but to follow after him once more. "Seriously the things I do for you people. Unbelievable."

Wondering if maybe it was Heather Sawyer, the human Will suspected to be his host, he pulled ahead of Jason, walking towards where he knew her home was.

Him taking the lead caught Jason's attention, the older male's hand snapping out and wrapping around his wrist, pulling him to a stop as Will sent a glare to him over his shoulder.

"Did you not say that we should keep moving?"

"And just where are you going?" Jason grumbled, Will refusing to wince as the hold around his wrist tightened to the point of bruising.

"Heather Sawyer's."

The move happened so quickly that before he could blink Will found himself gasping as he was shoved hard against the brick wall, a hand at his throat and Jason all but snarling in his face.

"Veronica Sawyer. Her name is Ver-on-i-ca." He snarled, the look in his eyes on the verge of insanity as he sent a jolt of power through Will's system, making him gasp and setting his nerves on edge. "Heather was a selfish bitch that got what she deserved. And if you so much as touch one hair on Veronica's head I swear that you'll join the rest of the group that fucked with her. Got it?"

Unable to speak, unable to even think clearly with the energy that was overloading his own system Will just scratched at the hand, wincing when it tightened.

Fuck.

There were times when he forgot just how much stronger than him Jason was. Just how much more experience that Jason had. How much power he could call up when he was connected with his host.

Seeming to realize that he wasn't able to respond Jason let him go, Will stumbling once more without the support, his teeth chattering and body shaking, every muscle tense and on edge.

It all hit him at once. Everything sounded to loud, as if even the softest hum of the overnight lights inside the stores they passed where buzz saws blaring next to his ears. The gently breeze of the cool wind caressing his cheeks felt like knife blades, the fabric of his own clothing burning and scraping against his suddenly flaming skin. The air around him made him sick, all of the smells to strong and to bitter, leaving him with the want to never breath again, his hand coming up to cover his nose and mouth and his eyes screwing shut when everything looked to bright, to sharp, piecing into his gaze as unforgivably as a bright light shoved right into him after weeks of darkness.

He had no idea what this feeling was, he'd never experienced it before, his other arm wrapping around his stomach while he tried to keep himself from throwing up.

Just what the fuck had Jason done to him?

"Oh shit." He knew that Jason had probably mutter those words under his breath, but they sounded as if he had just screamed them at the top of his lungs right next to his ear.

When a hand was placed on his shoulder he bit down on his tongue hard enough to make it bleed to keep himself from crying out at the pain that it sent flaring up him.

And than, just as quickly as it happened, it was suddenly gone.

Will panted against his hand, his eyes slowly blinking open as he shifted, the world slowly coming back to him piece by piece.

"Well," Jason muttered, Will taking his time to slowly straighten himself out again, "I guess I should apologize for that."

The look that Will shot him would have been enough to send most people running, but the guy just shrugged, placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket as if nothing had happened.

"What the fuck did you just do to me?" Will snarled, jerking away when Jason rolled his shoulders back.

"Nothing that you didn't deserve. Seriously, don't piss me off and than expect nothing to happen."

"But what did you..?"

"I got into your systems and overloaded you." Jason interrupted with a roll of his eyes, continuing forward, Will moving out of his way and following behind him. "It wasn't intentional."

That didn't make Will feel any better as he trailed behind him, his shoulders rolled up to his ears as if he was just waiting for it to happen again. Still, overloading... he'd never really heard of that before. Well, really he'd never heard of Squips being able to do it to other Squips. He'd seen it happen once before when someone had hacked into one of the main power sources back at the labs. Seen that it had been to much and just how crazy the guy had gone. He's mind had completely shattered.

And Jason had just about done that to him.

Unintentionally...

"You- you can do that?" Will mumbled, his voice quiet, his hands sliding into the pockets of his jeans to hide the slight tremor the energy had left behind. "I thought..."

"Don't think." Jason snapped, tossing the order over his shoulder, "you're no good at it. Just keep your mouth shut and do as your told."

Will shrunk back, to tired to continue fighting, to defeated to try and continue going head to head with Jason.

"You stole my code Will," Jason said after a long pause, his eyes narrowed to fine points as he stopped walking for a moment to really drive the point home, "I can do basically anything I want to you aside from straight up killing you or placing you in harms way." He turned, facing Will again, his eyes so cold they just about froze him in place. "But slowing down your healing process so that you suffer in pain for far longer than you should, overloading your system until your mind snaps, fucking with your head until you don't know what's real and what's not, all of that is well in my control." He hissed, Will's mouth going dry at the news. "So don't fucking tempt me."

Will suddenly found it very hard to swallow, his heart pounding as he realized just how truly powerless he was against the other. It wouldn't matter that he had a host now. It wouldn't matter about all of the power that he would have access to once Jeremy and him finally got the hang of it. Jason would always be one step ahead of him, always far more willing to spill his blood or the blood of others closest to him to torture him, to remind him just how much he was hated, how useless he was.

But...

"Why didn't you do it than?" Will couldn't help but push. He couldn't help but fan the flames, the mockery of a smile that came to Jason's face letting him know just how much he wasn't going to like the answer.

"It's simple really." Jason said, his voice sudden smooth as silk as he sauntered up to him, erasing the space between them, Will's body refusing to move when he leaned over to speak lowly into his ear. "Because I wanted to watch you to suffer." The words were a hiss, sending a shiver straight down his spine and leaving him paralyzed. "It was fun to watch you make friends and lovers and fight against the others and get injured trying to protect everyone because you can't win. Because watching you fight that never ending battle alone and lucid made me laugh about how miserable you were because of it. If I had broken your little mind you wouldn't have been so much fun to watch, to play with," he purred.

Suddenly his humour dropped, his hand snapping out and wrapping around Will's upper arm so tightly it made him hiss in pain. When Jason pulled back, the cold look over his face made Will's stomach flip and his mouth snap shut.

"But now you've got a group to go with you." He growled, the sound deep and rumbling, on the verge of a storm. "Now you've got a host that you get along with oh so well that's apparently a really good fuck if your recent attitude has anything to do with it. Now you're just a smitten little kitten with friends who stand by you and a slight chance at actually winning this whole thing. Now my daughter," He snarled, his eyes blazing, swirling until they were glowing blue once more, "is going to decide that she wants to go with you! To help you!"

The news slammed into Will like a freight train, his eyes blowing wide at what Jason had just shouted at him.

His daughter?

Jason had a daughter?

Will had a sister?

"I can see it already. Once she finds out what you're doing, she'll drop everything and go with the lot of you. So here's the thing Will," Jason chuckled, the sound not nearly as soothing as it should have been, as it would have been coming from anyone else. "I can't stop her from joining you." He admitted. "Neither can Veronica. She's made up her mind, she's sticking with it. The only reason your alive by the way, is because she wanted you alive. The only reason I bothered to kill the others at all was because they would have hunted her down after they finished with you."

Will was only half listening to the words that were being thrown at him, his mind trying to figure out just who his daughter was, trying to figure out how he hadn't known, how he hadn't felt her, how Jenna had missed it. She was either Brooke, or Chloe, and honestly Will didn't think that either of them looked a thing like Jason or Veronica.

"I'm going to be going with you," that brought Will back, the idea of travelling with Jason enough to send another jolt of fear straight down to his core, "and if something-anything happens to her, I will destroy you completely." He snapped, giving Will a hard shake to drive the point home. "I'll shatter your mind so thoroughly that you'll be left in a living nightmare with no way out. But before I do that," he slowed his words, quieting his voice as a smirk twisted over his lips, making sure that he had Will's full attention, making sure that he was really listening before he continued, "I'll turn your precious host into a mute, blind, deaf, paraplegic. I'll turn his own body into a prison, trapping his mind in a world of living darkness."

Will went cold. He could feel the sweat slipping down the back of his neck, could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but it felt off, wrong. As if he wasn't really there.

Because this had to be some type of dream, a nightmare. This couldn't-.

"I've already told you I've latched onto his nervous system." Jason grinned, "It would be all to easy to fry whatever I wanted to."

"Jason." Will found the word tumbling from his mouth before he could stop it, having to push, to force the rest of what he wanted to say out before he couldn't speak. "Jason please. L-leave Jeremy out of it. He di..."

"She gets hurt," Jason hissed, shutting Will up with no effort, "and you know what will happen."

Will just about tripped over his feet when Jason shoved him back, but managed to stay standing, his body feeling numb and empty, his mind blank, unable to come up with any type of solution for the problem in front of him. He'd thought he was fucked before. This was a whole lot worse.

"Keep up Will."

His eyes finally turned to see just how far Jason had managed to get, unable to find it in himself to care about all the space that separated them but following as he was ordered. After all, what choice did he really have?

The silence continued to stretch on, Jason marching up front while Will slunk after him, head down and shoulders up while they drew nearer and nearer to the living place of Hea... Veronica Sawyer, Jason's host.

As they rounded their last corner, Will found his eyes drifting up to take in the sight of the shabby apartment building before them. Ever since he'd found it he'd always been a little curious as to why she chose a place like this rather than some nice little house in the suburbs, but he didn't give two shits about the answer anymore as the realization that Jeremy was in there somewhere with everyone else made his chest tighten.

If only he'd never met Jeremy. If only he had allowed Janette to kill him that night. None of this would be happening right now. Jeremy's life wouldn't be in danger, none of their lives would, and Jason wouldn't be threatening to destroy them all.

He was so focused on his thoughts and looking up to the building, wishing that he could see through the brick and stone, that he didn't see when Jason stopped and turned to him. It was only when he ran into the guy hard enough that he nearly stumbled back that he realized what had happened. Jason didn't say a word as he collected himself, only letting out an aggravated sigh before he levelled a glare at Will.

"Before we go inside, there's one thing I need you to do for me."

Will didn't say anything, the arch of a single eyebrow being the only thing to show his confusion at the statement.

"I'm obviously going to be going with you." Jason said, the reminder doing nothing to ease Will's mood. "but I have a feeling that the rest of the group is going to object against it." Didn't take a university degree to know that. Smartly however Will kept the thought to himself. "It's going to be your job to make sure that they say yes."

Will's shoulders dropped, his mood sinking even lower as Jason glared down at him sharply.

"Play nice and I won't turn your precious host into a vegetable."

Biting down on his tongue, Will didn't say a word, only nodding his head along with the new plan. Seeming satisfied with that Jason gave a single nod of his head, moving out of the way and pulling open the door to the building. He didn't wait for Will to go through before it nearly snapped closed on him, but Will didn't mind.

He only mourned the fact that the door couldn't crush him in half and put him out of his misery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: Only one more to go guys! :D And than it's on to book two! Now granted, I only have about two chapters done for the next one but I'm sure I'll still be able to keep up with Tuesday updates!


	47. Chapter 47

Jeremy's heart both soared and crashed at the sight of Will.

Physically he looked fine, although his clothing was tore and burned and he was a little scratched up he wasn't bleeding profusely or missing any limbs so that was good but... There was something- off- about him that he could see buried deep in the depths of his eyes.

Everyone else jumped to their feet, Jeremy wishing for nothing more than to be able to join them as they all crowded around the two, shooting off questions of this and that while Jeremy fought hard against whatever hold it was that JD seemed to have over him. But it didn't matter, he was still stuck there, still stuck sitting on the couch while everyone else spoke over each other, each one wanting their question answered first.

Brooke was the only one who seemed to hold back, watching Will as if she'd never seen him before, observing him from afar. But Will took no interest in her, or anyone else for that matter, his eyes scanning around the room until they landed on Jeremy.

His heart couldn't have swelled any bigger from pure joy as he finally- finally!- managed to make the smallest noise from the back of his throat. It was only than that JD seemed to remember him, lifting his gaze from Jake and giving a single flick of his hand in Jeremy's general direction.

And just like that, the power that had been binding him released, air slamming back into him as if he hadn't been breathing properly the whole time. Without a word he got to his feet, stumbling a little bit from the stiffness in his limbs but pushing it aside as he made a beeline for Will.

Will didn't let him get far though, and before Jeremy knew it he'd all but slammed into him, arms wrapping around his waist so tightly he was sure it would bruise. Letting out a small omph from the impact, Jeremy wrapped his own arms around Will to help keep his balance, one around his waist and the other around his shoulders, his hand gently resting on the back of Will's head.

"Whoa Will, I'm okay." He muttered, ignoring the looks of his friends as they politly pretended that their attention was more on JD rather than them. "Hey, can you look at me please?"

But Will shook his head, his arms sliding back around until his hands were clutching the fabric at the front of Jeremy's shirt, his head all but burrowing into Jeremy's chest.

Will?

He pressed against the bond, hoping to get some type of reaction, some type of response, but Will didn't say a word back.

Brows furrowing Jeremy decided not to push, instead running his hand soothingly up and down Will's back, his other one stroking the top of Will's head, softly ruffling his hair.

"You're okay." He muttered, keeping his voice low.

It was than that he noticed it, that his eyes widened as he stared down at the one in his arms.

Will was shaking.

Darting his gaze over to the older Squip among them, Jeremy found his gaze narrowing as their eyes locked from over Will's head.

He had no idea what had happened with the two of them in the short time that they were gone, but something must have happened to rattle Will this much.

You're okay Will.

Jeremy gently tightened his hold on the smaller male in his arms, flashing his teeth at the other Squip when a smirk pulled at his lips from across the room.

He couldn't wait for the second they managed to get away from this asshole.

"So what happened?" Rich muttered, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes unable to help themselves as they darted over to Will every so often. "Are they still coming after us or..?"

"I took care of the problem." JD muttered with a wave of his hand. "They won't be coming after you guy anymore."

While the rest of the group appeared to relax at that- with the exception of Jenna- Jeremy didn't allow himself to feel their comfort. He knew that there was no way that it was over. After all it would be pretty stupid for the Squips after Will to only send one group. There was no doubt more and more on the way.

"Thanks." He couldn't even make his gratitude sound genuine as he glared openly at the other, his hold tightening when Will made to move away. "It's been a long night though, and I think we should all be heading back. We're leaving first thing in the morning after all, we need to make it to the train station on time."

"Wait," Brooke stepped forward, further separating herself from the group as she moved towards Jeremy and Will. "You guys are leaving?"

Jeremy stared down at her, trying to see anything of JD or Heather in her. But he couldn't. She just didn't look anything like them. Although he supposed if she had he wouldn't have known what to look for anyways. But where did that put them? He didn't hate her, and she had managed to get JD to help Will rather than just feeding him to the wolves, but... just how many traits did she share with her father? True, Will wasn't anything like JD, but Rich had said that JD saw Will as a virus, would Brooke end up seeing him the same way? Would she end up being a threat to them later? He couldn't imagine it, and Brooke had been nothing but an angel to their group since she'd met them.

It wasn't her fault that she was JD's daughter. But why did Jason seem to like her so much more than he liked Will?

Pushing aside his thoughts on the subject for now Jeremy offered her a small smile. He wasn't sure just what else to do but he supposed with everything that she had seen tonight the least he could do was be open with her.

"We're going to be heading out." He admitted. "To try and take out the other group of Squips that are hunting down the remain groups that just want to be left alone."

"You're all going?" She questioned, turning herself so that she could see the whole group.

Rich was the only one to roll his eyes, letting out a sharp hiss before he started muttering.

"Well most of us are going, but some..."

"We're all going." Micheal's voice startled everyone, Rich included as he snapped his mouth shut and turned his wide eyed gaze to his ex. Micheal didn't turn to see him though, keeping his attention on Will and Jeremy. Rich's gaze shot down to glare at the floor when he noticed he was staring, still seething as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We stand a better chance together than we do if we're separated."

Jeremy smiled at his friend, glad to hear that he was on board with the rest of them, finally allowing Will enough space to slip out of his hold.

Will seemed to take a second, keeping his head tilted down just enough for Jeremy to not be able to make out the expression on his face before he turned to face the rest of the group.

While he was sure that Will was going to say something, nothing but silence filled the room as he and Brooke finally faced one another.

They both appeared stunned, as if seeing one another for the first time, checking each other out from head to toe as if they could suddenly find something familiar about the practical stranger in front of them. When Brooke took a step forward Will tensed slightly, but he didn't move. No one else in the room said anything as they watched the two around each other, no doubt trying to pick out just what could have possible made them related in the first place.

"So," Brooke mumbled, brushing her hair behind her ears, her teeth worrying the corner of her bottom lip for a moment, "you're Jason's kid too?"

Will's head quirked at that, tilting slightly to the side at the title she gave to the older Squip. He was probably shocked over the fact that she didn't call him dad.

"I take it his parenting skills with you were top quality." Will muttered, earning an eye roll from her.

"Oh ya, he just showed up here one day, broke in through the window actually."

"Terrible edicate." Will tutted.

"I know." Brooke agreed, a smile pulling at her lips, her whole body seeming to ease up a bit.

From the look that Jeremy spotted on JD from just over Will's shoulder he could tell that he wasn't the least amused with the two of them together.

As Brooke looked Will over again her brows pulled together, her head tilting to the side as if she was trying to figure something out.

"Just how old are you? You seem to be my age but..." She trailed off, as if not sure just how to finish that sentence.

"Eighteen."

Jeremy started at that, snapping his gaze over to burn into the back of Will's head in shock.

Will was only eighteen? Sure Jeremy was only twenty two but... shit. That meant that Will was a lot younger than he thought when he was dealing with... well, just fucking everything. How had it not crossed Rich's and Jake's mind to mention this to him!? Sure they'd said that Will was the last Squip that they made which would have made him the youngest out of everyone, and that Rich watched out for him when he was younger but Jesus Christ. Just how old had Will been when the program had been shut down? When he'd been forced to go out on his own and fight for survival?

Suddenly Will was to far away. To far away and not in Jeremy's hold and he just needed to be a little bit closer.

But Will was talking to his biological sister for the first time, and it didn't matter how much Jeremy was freaking out, Will wouldn't want to be interrupted by his neediness right now.

"Aw!" Brooke squealed, her hands flying up to cup either side of her face as she jumped on the spot. "I have a little brother!"

Will didn't say anything in response, and Jeremy could only imagine all to clearly the awkward smile that he was sure the guy was forcing to his face at this current moment.

"While I would love to continue our conversation Brooke," Will said, his voice soft, "we do really have to head out. Jeremy is right and we do not have much time and we..."

"I want to help!" Brooke said, and once again Jeremy could see Will's shoulders tensing. "I-I can help. I want to. If you guys are going to be trying to do something to stop people from going around and hurting everyone else than I want to help you do it."

"While I appreciate it Brooke," Will said, Jeremy walking up to his side just to be closer. "I do not think that it would be the best of ideas. You have no training and..."

"We don't either Will." Christine grinned, popping up on her friends side, looping their arms together. "She can train with us."

"That sounds great!" Brooke grinned, turning to look at Chloe over her shoulder. "You don't mind if we do this do you babe?"

Chloe, who Jeremy had honestly forgotten all about with how silent she had been the whole time, gave a small shrug of her shoulders.

"I can teach everyone hand to hand combat." She muttered, "Among other things."

That seemed to shock Will, Jeremy watching him carefully as he turned to her.

"I did a background check on you. There was nothing there."

"Well next time maybe you should ask me." Chloe smirked. "My Dad was in the special forces and was extremely paranoid about being online and government snoops."

"Well," Will muttered, "that would explain quiet a bit. But I must stand by my earlier statement. It is already bad enough that I have dragged everyone else into this. I would hate to do the same to you two."

"Will please," When Brooke took a step towards them, Jeremy's arm snapped out, snaking around Will's shoulders when he moved back. No one else seemed to notice it much, but Jeremy raised a brow at his boyfriend, concern scratching at the back of his mind when he could feel the small tremors running through Will. "We just want to help."

You okay?

"I am sorry Brooke but I really can not place you at risk." Will said, his voice tighter this time, outright ignoring Jeremy as he stepped out of his hold. "In fact I do not think that I can place any of you at risk."

"What?"

His words sent a ripple of shock through the small group, but he refused to look at any of them as he continued backing up, separating himself from the rest of them.

"This is a suicide mission, even more so for you lot." Will grumbled, "you have no training, no understanding on how any of this works, no concept for what we are going to have to face, that was made very clearly to me tonight and I can not willingly throw you into situations that I am not sure I can walk you back out again."

Jeremy had no idea where this was coming from. They had already been over all of this before. It wasn't like these were new ideas or some surprising facts. They knew that they could all die. They knew that they might have to kill, and still they wanted to help and put an end to it. Will hadn't tried to hide any of that from them, he'd been very upfront about it, and they were still standing by his side. So just why was it that he was bringing up something they had already agreed to as if they didn't understand just what might end up happening if they failed?

"Will we know..."

"No you don't!" Will snarled, turning on Jeremy with a flash of teeth, but still moving away.

"So what are you going to do?" Jake questioned, his face oddly blank as he stared down at Will. "You're just going to head out with Jeremy and..?"

"No." Will snapped, forcing himself to settle back down at the collective looks of worry that flashed over their faces. Jeremy watched him as he paused, running his hands through his hair and closing his eyes for a long moment before dropping them back to his sides. "No. Jeremy is not going to come with me."

Shaking his head Jeremy risked another step towards Will, refusing to back down at the look that was whipped towards him.

"That's not going to work Will. You need me there to gain energy. Without it you'll be a sitting duck for those guys to pick off."

"Not if I move quick enough."

"That's the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard." Rich growled, marching out to stand just outside the little group. "Will we've already agreed to helping you. So let's just..."

"I don't want your help!" Will yelled at him, the lights in the room dimming into darkness before snapping back to a blinding brightness. "You would all just get in the way."

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Rich yelled back. "Just what the fuck is going on?"

Although Jeremy didn't agree with the way that Rich went about asking, he couldn't help but wonder the same thing. Everything had seemed fi... well, not fine he guessed but at least they had all been safe and on the same page so just what had happened?

But as badly as he wanted the answers there was no way that Rich was going to help him get them, not with them both snarling and snapping at each other like they were. Jeremy could already see just how ready to bolt Will was, he could see just how cornered he was feeling. If they weren't careful Will was going to end up doing something stupid that he'd regret.

Will?

He tried to push against the bond, to draw the other into a conversation, to pull him out of whatever mindset that he'd worked himself into. But he couldn't reach it. He'd never had to work to share their thoughts before. It had always been Jeremy who had the shield set up and could put it down when he wanted to open himself to the other. He'd never seen a reason to try and reach out to Will, he wasn't supposed to, Squips weren't able to shield their side of the bond.

But...

As he tried to reach out, as he tried to brush against the shared link that they had, as he tried to push past it and close to Will, he recoiled at the feelings that swam there.

It was all just pure chaos. Darker than staring into an abyss and colder than deaths kiss. It wasn't like the warm place on Jeremy's side of the bond. It was a swirling vortex of pain and hate and terror and guilt that ran so widely Jeremy didn't know if he dare to try and swim through it if there would be another side.

Jeremy didn't know what to do. Will was hurting, and he didn't know how to help, how to reach him, and it killed a large part of him to not be able to help.

When he pulled back he was left to frown over the fact that everyone was arguing now, trying to say just why they should be able to go, how stupid he was for not wanting their help, asking just what was going on. Everyone was hurt and confused and angry and Will wasn't helping his case any with just how venomously he spat back at them.

He knew that he had to do something.

He just didn't know what.

Will, please.

"None of you are coming with me and that is final!"

"Like fucking hell it is!"

"Guys maybe we should calm down..."

"We have a better chance if we all stick together."

Jeremy opened his mouth, not sure what he could say but knowing that he needed to step in, to help before things got worse.

"Everybody shut uuuuuuup."

The arguing stopped, Will's whole body freezing as JD saunter up to him, carelessly throwing an arm around his shoulder, Will's gaze dropping to the ground. Jeremy gritted his teeth, the urge to swoop in and smack the guy so strong that his body was nearly shaking with it. Will just looked so uncomfortable, like he wasn't even breathing.

"Thank you." The smirk that JD levelled them all with made everyone flinch back some, no one daring to say anything as his hand clasped on Will's shoulder, pulling him into his side tighter while he turned to face the one in his hold. "You're going to need all the help you can get life ruiner." JD grinned, the little nickname grating on Jeremy's nerves. "Besides, with everyone all together it will be much easier to keep an eye on them don't you think?"

Will didn't say anything, but Jeremy could see the muscles in his jaw feathering from how hard he was clenching his teeth.

"So here's the plan," JD continued, turning back to face the rest of the group, "we're all going."

"Even you?" Rich asked, flinching back at the look that was zeroed in on him.

"Got a problem with it short stack?"

"Jason," Brooke was the one who spoke up this time, crossing her arms over her chest as she toed at the floor. "I really don't think that it's a great idea."

"You don't think that it's a great idea to have one of the strongest Squips ever on your team?" Jason muttered, arching a brow as he looked down at her.

"Not when we can't be sure just which team you'll be staying on." Jake said, his eyes darting to the side when the dark gaze landed on him. "Honestly we can't trust you to not just change your mind and try killing us half way through."

"Well," JD chuckled, turning his full attention to the one trapped in his hold, Jeremy inwardly snarling at the way Will curled into himself. "you don't hangout with a very accepting group do you?" Suddenly his amusement came to an end, something more dangerous, more sinister creeping out as he gently trailed the fingers of his free hand down Will's cheek and to his throat. "Just what do you think Kitten? Want me to tag along?"

"You can crawl back into whatever nightmare hellscape that you waltzed out of and die!"

Jeremy knew that it was stupid. Knew that he should have kept his mouth shut but... that name. The stupid little pet name that he'd picked out for Will...

When Jeremy said it, he said it with love, with a teasing little seduction, with warmth and kindness and respect. It was to show his affection for the other. To show how much he cared, a little comfort to bring to Will, another way to show him how much he appreciated him.

But this asshole... The way he spat it out, the way that he sneered, twisting it into a mockery of what it stood for, taunting Will for it. He'd ruined it. Will wouldn't be able to hear that nickname again without hearing his spiteful tone.

And the fucker knew it too.

But just how had he known about the nickname in the first place?

Pushing that thought aside Jeremy fought hard against finding something heavy to throw at the guy's smug face.

"We were doing just fine without!" He snapped, "and we'll be just fine..!"

"Jeremy." His words caught in his throat at the small voice of Will. There was no fight left in it, none of the rage he had before, just bone tired exhaustion. "I think it would be best if Jason were to come with us."

The shit eating grin that overcame the others features sent Jeremy brimming with rage.

Before he could say anything, before any of them could utter out a single word, JD dropped his arm from Will's shoulders, bring his hand up to ruffle his hair around before shoving Will's head down and stepping out in front of him.

"Alright then. Now that we're all in agreement on who's all going, I say that we allow Brooke and... whatever the other girl's name is-."

"Chloe!"

"Ya, okay, whatever," JD muttered, waving his hand in the air flippantly before sliding his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Anyways, we'll wait for you two to grab your things and then head over to little shit's house and go from there. Will," Will's shoulders dropped, his head not having moved since Jason shoved it down, "I assume you have at least some form of a dumbass plan. I'd like to go over it with you, see just how much fixing it needs."

Will did nothing other than nod his head, and Jeremy could feel his stomach turn.

This wasn't the Will he knew. Where was his snappy little bucket of sass? Just what had happened to his snarky attitude? Was this what happened whenever JD was around? Is this what he reduced the guy to whenever they were in close proximity to each other? Was this just how much he utterly destroyed Will?

Growing tired of seeing the other being belittled so much Jeremy marched over to his boyfriend before Jason could reach him again. Not daring to touch Will in the state he was in, he really didn't want to poor guy to shatter and he looked like someone might be able to do that with a single hand on the shoulder, Jeremy brought himself to be standing as physically close as he possibly could. The others in their group had taken to spreading themselves out around the area, much like they had before minus Brooke and Chloe who'd gone to their rooms. Jeremy pushed aside the fact that they must have both lived with Heather and what that meant aside as he glared at the frown settled over JD's features.

"You know, I think talking about the plans can wait. We're going to be taking the train tomorrow anyways, that hasn't changed, so you can talk about it there."

"Listen battery pack..."

"There or not at all." Jeremy snapped.

"Jeremy," it was Will's voice that drew him back, that toned down his temper as he turned to face him, "I really should talk with Jason."

"God, you know, I've always hated you calling me Jason." JD sighed before Jeremy could get in another word. "But I hate the thought of you calling me JD more. Hm, what to do, what to do."

"Do you ever shut up?" Jeremy hissed, glaring at the smirk that slid over the others face.

But he ignored Jeremy as he turned back to Will, grabbing at his chin and forcing his head up.

"Okay kitten how bout this? Call me Master."

Jeremy

Fucking

Snapped.

His mind had no time to scream at him what a bad idea it was before his fist drilled itself into the side of Jason's face.

The guy barely flinched.

The hit was hard enough to land most people on their ass, but JD just took a step back, giving a shake of his head as the rest of the room dropped into utter silence. Jeremy hissed, shaking out his throbbing fist before cradling it in his hand. JD on the other hand just brought his hand up to his jaw, rubbing at it for a moment before his gaze shifted to Jeremy.

"Oh, I'm going to like playing with you."

That was it. He was going to beat the guy's face into a bloody pulp with his bare hands, he didn't care if he had to break every bone in his fingers to do it.

But then the door opened.

And everyone's attention snapped over to watch as Heather Sawyer entered the room.

"What the fuck?" She started at the door, her eyes wide as she took in all of the strangers just casually sitting around her living room.

"Darling!" Jason grinned, the first real smile on his face absolutely beaming as he threw his hands up. "Welcome back!"

"Not right now." She muttered, shutting her door and taking everyone in. "Jeremy?" Her brow arched when her eyes landed on him. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

"Hello, Mis Sawyer I..." However before Will could finish Jason's hand snapped out, clamping over his mouth and cutting him off.

"It's a Squip thing," JD said, shoving Will back before he started walking towards her. "Sorry, I had to bring them all here. This place was close to that Karaoke studio than theirs so..."

"Wait," she stopped him with a single hand on the chest, keeping him at a distance as glared up at him. "You were the one in charge of the damage done there? Dammit JD did you even think about..!"

"Hi, Mom!" Brooke waved happily to her mother as she reentered the room, a bag slung over her shoulders with Chloe following closely behind.

Heather seemed to let out a heavy breath, embracing her daughter before pulling back to cup her cheeks.

"I'm so glad that you're alright."

"I told you I'd keep our daughter safe," JD said, earning a glare from both of the women.

"I'm not your daughter."

"She's not your daughter."

Jason's shoulders dropped at that, his lips pulling down into a frown. "But..."

"Parenting," Heather said sharply, cutting him off before he could continue, "means actually being involved with the child's life. Not just popping in whenever you feel like it."

"I-."

"I don't want to hear it." She snapped, shutting him down before he could even start. "If you have everything that you need then I suggest you go."

Everyone pretended to find the floors and ceilings in the room interesting at the silence that stretched out. Only Jeremy and Rich seemed to be finding any source of amusement at how little JD could do against her. He might have been one of the most powerful Squips and scared the crap out of all of them, but it was humbling to see him being cut down to size for once.

"Actually Mom, me and Chloe are going to go with them."

That drew her attention back to her daughter, only then taking in the backpacks they were both wearing.

"Ya um, well..."

"We thought it would be a good idea to show Brooke how Squips work." Jenna put in from her place on the couch. "You know, just to show her the ropes and all that. Super dangerous for her not to have any training up to this point actually. Don't know how she hasn't fried someone yet."

No one said anything to disprove Jenna's statement, everyone knowing that it was better than telling her the truth. However, when she turned her gaze to JD, he simply shrugged and played along with it.

"Hey, I'm one of the strongest here so she'll be in good hands."

"Good hands?" She couldn't have sounded less impressed. "You blew a hole in the wall."

"Technically," Jason jerked his thumb over his shoulder, right at Will, "that was his fault."

"Oh ya!" Brooke grinned, her face lighting up as if she just remembered Will was there. "That reminds me! Mom, you wouldn't guess that Will's-!"

"Super clumsy!" JD shot in before she could finish. Forcing a chuckle passed his lips he waved his hands out to his side with a roll of his eyes, the smile over his features to fake to fool anyone. "Kids, you know? Gotta train the lot of them here before they hurt someone. Will just lost control and, next thing you know, the side of the building is missing."

"You," Heather said, arching a brow as she crossed her arms over her chest, "you're going to teach people how to have self-control?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

She ignored him, turning to her daughter instead. "When will you be back? Is this a weekend thing?"

Brooke paused, her eyes quickly darting to everyone, getting no real answer in response. No one had any idea how long they were going to be gone for, but Jeremy was sure that a weekend wasn't going to cut it.

"Uh, ya." She lied. "We'll be back before you know it."

Heather gave out a long sigh, staring at her daughter for a long, long moment before she pulled her into another hug.

"Okay, just be safe." She mumbled, pulling back. "I have no idea how this Squip stuff works," she admitted, "but it might be best for you to learn it I guess. Especially if the karaoke place is a show of just what could happen if you don't." She threw a quick glance over to Will, JD fuming at being ignored. "Seriously though kid, what the hell happened? It looked like a battle zone in there."

Will didn't say anything, pressing his lips into a thin line as his fingers tapped against his side. Jeremy frowned at his behaviour, wanting to reach out and wrap him up in his arms.

"Quiet one hm?" She questioned, and Jeremy could have laughed.

Will might not have been the loudest in their group, but there was no way that he was the quietest one either.

"So," Jake said, standing up from the couch and holding out a hand to help Christine to her feet. "If everyone's ready, I say we should head out."

"What great thinking." JD agreed, the smirk over his face setting everyone on edge as he pulled open the door. "Everyone, if you may."

Jeremy kept back with Will as everyone else filed out the room. Even though Brooke and Chloe were the ones closest to the door they took their time leaving. Making promises to call her and keep her up to date on what they were doing before they left. When it was just the four of them left in the room, JD and Heather whispered lowly to each other in what appeared to be a heated conversation.

Jeremy didn't pay it any mind though, just wanting to reach out and take Will's hand, but Will was keeping his arms firmly crossed over his chest and his eyes down, refusing to even so much as toss a glance Jeremy's way.

Will?

The lack of response once again made him frown. Just how deep in his own head was Will? Just what was going on with him?

Not sure just what to do, Jeremy quickly swooped down and pressed a dry kiss to Will's cheek. The action seemed to startle him, making him jump and bringing him to an abrupt stop as he finally looked at Jeremy.

Jeremy stopped too, figuring that they had at least a few minutes before the others finished talking and would have to leave.

So he stared at Will, trying to see if he could figure out just what it was that gave Jason so much of a hold over him, to see just what had happened since he'd run off that would cause such a shift. But he couldn't find anything. And he knew that he wouldn't, not without Will saying something first. Heaving out a long sigh Jeremy removed his hoodie, holding it out to Will with a small smile over his lips. He couldn't force the guy to open up, but he could be patient and wait for him.

"You're going to be cold out there if you walk out in that." He made a vague gesture to Will's clothes and their torn state, inwardly seething at just what he'd gone through to get them like that in the first place. At how frightened and hurt Will must have been. Pushing it to the side though he waited, wiggling it slightly as if that would help Will be entice into taking it.

Why did he feel like he was starting all over again?

But Will gently took the hood, slipping his arms in it and doing it up. Jeremy said nothing, waiting for... he wasn't really sure, but waiting none the less as Will stood there, playing with the zipper and biting down on his bottom lip. When he finally looked up, when he finally brought those big beautiful blue eyes up to meet with warm chocolate brown, Jeremy felt the air being knocked out of his lungs at the silver lining the two lakes, at the shattered look on Will's face, at the quiver in his lip as he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Jerem..."

"Will!"

They both flinched, Will's head dropping down as he hissed out a quiet curse, one filthy enough to shock even Jeremy as he watched Will turned his head just enough to be able to glare at the other Squip through his bangs. Well, maybe his little kitten wasn't completely lost.

JD was scowling though, Heather already walking away from him and deeper into her house as he crooked a finger at the two of them.

"Come on pussycat, ballsy. We've gotta go."

"Thank god you weren't there to name Brooke," Jeremy said, ignoring the glare that was shot at him but relishing in the quiet little snicker that Will quickly muffled with his hand.

He wasn't sure just what had happened between the two of the Squips, but he knew he'd figure out just what it was that JD did to Will soon enough.

His body jumped a little when he felt fingers brush against his own but before they could move away to far he snatched them up and held onto them tightly, his heartwarming at the feeling of Will squeezing back.

They'd figure this out. The other Squips, Jason, and everything else in between.

And then he'd fix it.

Or he'd die trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winder: And that's it, everyone! :D The end of book one! I hope you all continue on with Jeremy, Will and the gang in book two, 'I Just Wanna Survive'. I've already got five chapters finished for it so I should have it up in two weeks. Love ya all and have a great Christmas to those who celebrate it and Happy Holidays to everyone else! XD


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